


Teen Agent (Book 1)

by A3nt_m3lody



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Spoilers, Ancient Egypt, Cross-Posted on Wattpad, F/M, Gen, Hydra (Marvel), Immortality, Kree (Marvel), Marvel Universe, Mythology References, Original Character(s), Originally Posted Elsewhere, Post-Avengers (2012), Tahiti (Agents of SHIELD)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:54:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 29,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25787662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A3nt_m3lody/pseuds/A3nt_m3lody
Summary: She was 18 when she gets married to the god of the underworld. When she gave up her  morality for him. When she was offered a gift from the gods. It was suppose to be a happy day. But an attack at the palace and one abduction and experimentation later, the girl is left alone.The experiment had left her confused, a voice in her head that wasn't her own, but was at the same time. After grieving her family, she pleads to her beloved to let her venture into the unknown world. Years pass after that event, and was met with obstacles. Unintentionally she had made a name for herself. That name had brought the attention of a young Agent in the 40s. Since then, they had been friends, and she trusted the woman with her secret. The women's name was Peggy Carter.The stories she had told were the stepping stone to creating SHIELD after the SSR. Now in the 21st century, SHIELD stands, her old friends are gone, and her new ones have yet to realize her true nature.Past visits present. Present sees future. Future sets it all.
Relationships: Jemma Simmons & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Leo Fitz & Grant Ward, Leo Fitz/Jemma Simmons, Melinda May & Skye | Daisy Johnson, Phil Coulson & Agents of SHIELD Team, Phil Coulson & Melinda May, Phil Coulson & Original Female Character(s), Skye | Daisy Johnson & Grant Ward, Skye | Daisy Johnson & Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. Preview 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is from my wattpad account. I'm just rewriting it and making it less cringey. My username here is the same as wattpad if you kids wanna see my first years of writing. My attempt at my own version series dont hate pls I started this when I was younger.

_The_ _secret_ _is_ _out_ _._

**_"_ ** **_It_ ** **_is_ ** **_time_ ** **_for_ ** **_the_ ** **_ritual_ ** **_._ ** **_Bring_ ** **_the_ ** **_girl_ ** **_."_ **

_For_ _decades_ _,_ _your_ _organization_ _stayed_ _in_ _the_ _shadows_ _,_ _hiding_ _the_ _truth_ _._

**_"_ ** **_My_ ** **_lady_ ** **_,_ ** **_it_ ** **_is_ ** **_time_ ** **_to_ ** **_change_ ** **_."_ **

_But_ _now_ _we_ _know---_ _they're_ _among_ _us_ _._ _Heroes_ _._

_**"** _ _**Free** _ _**the** _ _**other** _ _**prisoners** _ _**.** _ _**I'll** _ _**grab** _ _**the** _ _**girl** _ _**."** _

_And_ _monsters_ _._

_**"** _ _**You** _ _**were** _ _**born** _ _**to** _ _**be** _ _**created** _ _**the** _ _**monster** _ _**you** _ _**hate** _ _**."** _

_The world is full of wonders._

_**"** _ _**How** _ _**are** _ _**you** _ _**still** _ _**the** _ _**same** _ _**as** _ _**this** _ _**picture** _ **_?"_ **

**...**

_We_ _can't_ _explain_ _everything_ _we_ _see_ _._

_**"** _ _**H-how** _ _**are** _ _**you** _ _**doing** _ _**that** _ _**?"** _

_But_ _our_ _eyes_ _are_ _open_ _._

_**"** _ _**Please** _ _**,** _ _**don't** _ _**leave** _ _**.** _ _**I** _ _**won't** _ _**tell** _ _**anyone** _ _**,** _ _**I** _ _**promise** _ _**."** _

_So_ _what_ _now_ _._

_**"** _ _**We'll** _ _**call** _ _**it** _ _**S** _ _**.** _ _**H** _ _**.I.E.** _ _**L** _ _**.** _ _**D** _ _**."** _

_There_ _are_ _no_ _more_ _shadows_ _for_ _you_ _to_ _hide_ _in_ _._

_**"** _ _**We** _ _**will** _ _**come** _ _**for you,** _ _**child** _ _**."** _

_Something_ _impossible_ _just_ _happened_ _._

_**"** _ _**Hey** _ _**,** _ _**did** _ _**you** _ _**see** _ _**that** _ _**girl** _ _**!"** _

_What_ _are_ _you_ _going_ _to_ _do_ _about_ _it_ _?_

_**"**_ _ **Discovery**_ _ **requires**_ _ **experimentation**_. ** _"_**

**...**

_How_ _will_ _you_ _come_ _at_ _us_ _?_

**_"_ ** **_You_ ** **_think_ ** **_you_ ** **_can_ ** **_stop_ ** **_what's_ ** **_coming_ ** **_?!"_ **

_From_ _the_ _air_ _?_

**_"_ ** **_Sniper_ ** **_,_ ** **_take_ ** **_cover!"_ **

_From_ _the_ _ground_ _?_

**_"_ ** **_Those_ ** **_men_ ** **_were_ ** **_swallowed_ ** **_up_ ** **_by_ ** **_the_ ** **_ground_ ** **_."_ **

_How_ _will_ _you_ _silence_ _us_ _this_ _time_ _?_

**_"_ ** **_How_ ** **_can_ ** **_she_ ** **_still_ ** **_speak_ ** **_?_ ** **_The_ ** **_shockwaves_ ** **_are_ ** **_over_ ** **_500_ ** **_jolts_ ** **_!"_ **

_How_ _can_ _you_ _?_

**_"_ ** **_We_ ** **_can't_ ** **_put_ ** **_it_ ** **_down_ ** **_!_ ** **_Its_ ** **_coming_ ** **_closer_ ** **_!"_ **

_The_ _truth_ _is_ _in_ _the_ _wind_ _._

**_"_ ** **_Mistress_ ** **_,_ ** **_we_ ** **_caught_ ** **_this_ ** **_child_ ** **_killing_ ** **_all_ ** **_those_ ** **_pitiful_ ** **_men_ ** **_."_ **

_Its_ _everywhere_ _._

**_"_ ** **_She_ ** **_is_ ** **_too_ ** **_destroy_ ** **_the_ ** **_village_ ** **_or_ ** **_her_ ** **_family_ ** **_suffers!"_ **

_You_ _cannot_ _stop_ _the_ _Rising_ _Tide_ _._

**_"_ ** **_Miles_ ** **_,_ ** **_isn't_ ** **_this_ ** **_just_ ** **_a_ ** **_myth_ ** **_??"_ **

_You_ _will_ _not_ _find_ _us_ _._

**_"_ ** **_Take_ ** **_the_ ** **_creature_ ** **_away_ ** **_and_ ** **_kill_ ** **_its_ ** **_loved_ ** **_ones_ ** **_."_ **

"You will never see our faces, but rest assured--- we will rise against those who shield us from the truth."

**_"_ ** **_I_ ** **_trusted_ ** **_you_ ** **_._ ** **_Why_ ** **_did_ ** **_you_ ** **_do_ ** **_this_ ** **_?!"_ **

**...**

_Everything_ _you_ _once_ _knew_ _,_ _will_ _be_ _gone_ _forever_ _._

_**"** _ _**You** _ _**knew** _ _**them** _ _**?" "** _ _**I** _ _**didn't** _ _**know** _ _**them** _ _**, they** _ _**were** _ _**family** _ _**."** _

_No_ _one_ _can_ _hide_ _their_ _true self_ _forever_ _._

_**"** _ _**How** _ _**many** _ _**lifetimes** _ _**?" "** _ _**Too** _ _**many** _ _**."** _

_The_ _monsters_ _who_ _changed_ _you_ _always_ _haunt_ _you_ _._

_**"** _ _**I'm** _ _**sorry** _ _**,** _ _**but** _ _**this** _ _**mission** _ _**isn't** _ _**for** _ _**me** _ _**."** _

_All_ _the_ _things_ _that_ _created_ _you_ _,_ _now_ _want_ _to_ _destroy_ _you_ _._

_**"** _ _**He** _ _**isn't** _ _**the** _ _**first** _ _**inhuman** _ _**creation** _ _**."** _

_As_ _the_ _darkness_ _surrounds_ _you_ _,_ _all_ _the_ _things_ _you_ _thought_ _could_ _change_ _the_ _world_ _failed_ _._

_**"** _ _**It** _ _**is** _ _**nice** _ _**to** _ _**see** _ _**you** _ _**again** _ _**.** _ _**I** _ _**hope** _ _**you** _ _**as** _ _**special** _ _**as** _ _**the** _ _**other** _ _**woman** _ _**I** _ _**experimented** _ _**."** _

_Making_ _you_ _ready_ _to_ _comply_ _to_ _the_ _death_ _around_ _you_ _._

_**"** _ _**You've** _ _**lost** _ _**so** _ _**much** _ _**.** _ _**Please** _ _**,** _ _**join** _ _**my** _ _**hive** _ _**.** _ _**I** _ _**can** _ _**make** _ _**you** _ _**whole** _ _**again** _ _**."** _

_As_ _the_ _beautiful_ _flower_ _starts_ _to_ _crumble_ _._

_**"** _ _**You** _ _**and** _ _**daisy** _ _**are** _ _**very** _ _**special** _ _**.** _ _**A** _ _**rare** _ _**bouquet** _ _**that's** _ _**other** _ _**worldly** _ _**."** _

_Loved_ _ones_ _go_ _and_ _die_ _._

_**"** _ _**I** _ _**don't** _ _**know** _ _**,** _ _**saving** _ _**the** _ _**girl** _ _**I** _ _**love** _ _**and** _ _**kid** _ _**I** _ _**care** _ _**about** _ _**as** _ _**a** _ _**sister** _ _**?** _ _**Feels** _ _**pretty** _ _**right** _ _**to** _ _**me** _ _**."** _

_Decoys_ _and_ _traitors_ _surround_ _you_ _._

_**"** _ _**That's** _ _**not** _ _**gonna** _ _**happen** _ _**,** _ _**so** _ _**this** _ _**is** _ _**where** _ _**I** _ _**say** _ _**goodbye** _ _**."** _

_The_ _once_ _beautiful_ _flower_ _bloomed_ _,_ _now_ _a_ _shred_ _of_ _emptiness_ _,_ _floating_ _around_ _in_ _the_ _darkness_ _._

_**"** _ _**Through** _ _**all** _ _**my** _ _**life** _ _**times** _ _**,** _ _**I'd** _ _**never** _ _**seen** _ _**the** _ _**earth** _ _**completely** _ _**.** _ _**Its** _ _**sad** _ _**,** _ _**but** _ _**beautiful** _ _**."** _

_Will_ _the_ _flaming_ _light_ _save_ _the_ _flower_ _?_

_**"** _ _**Robbie** _ _**Reyes** _ _**,** _ _**nice** _ _**to meet** _ _**you** _ _**kid** _ _**."** _

_Or_ _will_ _darkness_ _rise_ _once_ _again_ _?_

_**"** _ _**After** _ _**the** _ _**Avengers** _ _**are** _ _**extinct** _ _**,** _ _**you** _ _**will** _ _**be** _ _**mine** _ _**."** _

_Time_ _will_ _tell_ _._

_**"** _ _**Raina** _ _**told** _ _**me** _ _**this** _ _**would** _ _**happen** _ _**..."** _

_The_ _future_ _is_ _set_ _._

_**"** _ _**That's** _ _**not** _ _**your** _ _**purpose** _ _**Daisy** _ _**.** _ _**Your** _ _**real** _ _**family** _ _**needs** _ _**you** _ _**."** _

_Nothing_ _can_ _stop_ _what's_ _to_ _come_ _._

_**"** _ _**Please** _ _**!** _ _**You** _ _**can't** _ _**do** _ _**this** _ _**!** _ _**Don't** _ _**leave** _ _**us** _ _**!"** _

_How_ _will_ _you_ _deal_ _with_ _the_ _family_ _members_ _deaths_ _?_

_**"** _ _**She** _ _**was** _ _**there** _ _**since** _ _**day** _ _**one** _ _**,** _ _**making** _ _**S** _ _**.** _ _**H** _ _**.** _ _**I** _ _**.** _ _**E** _ _**.** _ _**L** _ _**.** _ _**D** _ _**.** _ _**better** _ _**."** _

_Will_ _you_ _move_ _on_ _?_

_**"** _ _**She** _ _**wants** _ _**us** _ _**to** _ _**live** _ _**.** _ _**To** _ _**do** _ _**this** _ _**,** _ _**we** _ _**can't** _ _**grieve** _ _**.** _ _**She** _ _**was** _ _**the** _ _**beginning** _ _**of** _ _**S** _ _**.** _ _**H** _ _**.** _ _**I** _ _**.** _ _**E** _ _**.** _ _**L** _ _**.** _ _**D** _ _**.** _ _**and** _ _**we'll** _ _**help** _ _**her** _ _**finish** _ _**what** _ _**she** _ _**and** _ _**Agent** _ _**Carter** _ _**started."** _

_How_ _far_ _will_ _you_ _go_ _to_ _deny_ _it_ _?_

_**"** _ _**I'm** _ _**sorry** _ _**Cap. But---" "** _ _**don't** _ _**say** _ _**anything** _ _**.** _ _**Please** _ _**."** _

_How_ _much_ _longer_ _til_ _your_ _destiny_ _reveals_ _itself_ _?_

_**"** _ _**What** _ _**are** _ _**we** _ _**celebrating** _ _**Dr** _ _**.** _ _**Radcliffe** _ _**?" "** _ _**Your** _ _**birthday** _ _**and** _ _**her** _ _**rebirth** _ _**."** _

_Choose_ _your_ _path_ _._ _Once_ _you_ _take_ _it_ _,_ _there's_ _no_ _turning_ _back_ _._

_**"** _ _**I** _ _**finally** _ _**understand** _ _**the** _ _**reason** _ _**why** _ _**they** _ _**chose** _ _**me** _ _**."** _

_On_ _your_ _mark_ _._

_**"** _ _**You** _ _**can't** _ _**stop** _ _**this** _ _**!** _ _**Its** _ _**only** _ _**destiny** _ _**!** _ _**No** _ _**one** _ _**can** _ _**stop** _ _**destiny** _ _**!"** _

_Get_ _set_ _._

_**"** _ _**How** _ _**do we** _ _**stop** _ _**the** _ _**countdown** _ _**?" "** _ _**We** _ _**don't** _ _**."** _

_Run_ _..._

_**"** _ _**How** _ _**long** _ _**?" "... 70** _ _**years** _ _**."** _


	2. Preview 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically an overview for my series version of aos. Both this and the previous chapter. Chapter 1 is officially next

_Welcome_ _to_ _level_ _7._

**_"_ ** **_What's_ ** **_your_ ** **_name_ ** **_?" "_ ** **_Agent_ ** **_."_ **

_Here_ _you_ _will_ _know_ _secrets_ _._

**_"_ ** **_Well_ ** **_your_ ** **_the_ ** **_boss_ ** **_man_ ** **_,_ ** **_think_ ** **_you_ ** **_can_ ** **_declassify_ ** **_it_ ** **_?"_ **

_Secrets_ _that_ _not_ _all_ _agents_ _know_ _._

**_"_ ** **_Have_ ** **_you_ ** **_ever_ ** **_met_ ** **_Alexander_ ** **_Pierce_ ** **_?" "_ ** **_On_ ** **_multiple_ ** **_occasions_ ** **_."_ **

_Myths_ _._

_**"** _ _**Gods** _ _**used** _ _**to** _ _**be** _ _**a** _ _**myth** _ _**.** _ _**Look** _ _**at** _ _**the** _ _**world** _ _**now** _ _**."** _

_Legends_ _._

_**"** _ _**There's** _ _**this** _ _**one** _ _**story** _ _**about** _ _**a** _ _**kid** _ _**that's** _ _**thrived** _ _**in** _ _**every** _ _**generation** _ _**."** _

_Things_ _that_ _not_ _even_ _the_ _avengers_ _all_ _know_ _about_ _._

**_"_ ** **_Point_ ** **_break_ ** **_you_ ** **_serious_ ** **_?_ ** **_Your_ ** **_technically_ ** **_a_ ** **_myth_ ** **_!_ ** **_How_ ** **_do_ ** **_you_ ** **_not_ ** **_know_ ** **_about_ ** **_the_ ** **_legend_ ** **_?"_ **

_Or_ _do_ _they_ _know_ _?_

**_"_ ** **_Captain_ ** **_Rogers_ ** **_,_ ** **_I_ ** **_believe_ ** **_you_ ** **_are_ ** **_familiar_ ** **_with_ ** **_this_ ** **_agent_ ** **_."_ **

_In_ _order_ _to_ _protect_ _those_ _around_ _them_ _._

**_"_ ** **_You_ ** **_guys_ ** **_go_ ** **_on_ ** **_ahead_ ** **_!_ ** **_I'll_ ** **_find_ ** **_Coulson_ ** **_."_ **

_But_ _one_ _betrays_ _the_ _team_ _._

**_"_ ** **_You_ ** **_played_ ** **_all_ ** **_of_ ** **_us_ ** **_._ ** **_Especially_ ** **_Skye_ ** **_._ ** **_Do_ ** **_you_ ** **_really_ ** **_think_ ** **_you_ ** **_won't_ ** **_suffer_ ** **_by_ ** **_my_ ** **_hands_ ** **_?"_ **

_What's_ _really_ _inside_ _you_ _?_

**_"_ ** **_We_ ** **_finally_ ** **_get_ ** **_to_ ** **_find_ ** **_out_ ** **_what_ ** **_we_ ** **_become_ ** **_!"_ **

_Another_ _secret_ _or_ _lie_ _?_

**_"_ ** **_Enough_ ** **_!_ ** **_I've_ ** **_had_ ** **_it_ ** **_with_ ** **_you_ ** **_!"_ **

_A_ _blinding_ _light_ _will_ _appear_ _._

**_"_ ** **_We've_ ** **_come_ ** **_for_ ** **_the_ ** **_girl_ ** **_."_ **

_Is_ _it_ _gods_ _or_ _aliens_ _?_

**_"_ ** **_My_ ** **_name_ ** **_is_ ** **_Lady_ ** **_Sif_ ** **_of_ ** **_Asgard_ ** **_,_ ** **_and_ ** _**your** _ **_world_ ** **_is_ ** **_danger_ ** **_."_ **

_If_ _not_ _those_ _gods_ _,_ _who_ _?_

**_"_ ** **_I_ ** **_was_ ** **_chosen_ ** **_by_ ** **_my_ ** **_father_ ** **_to_ ** **_be_ ** **_given_ ** **_the_ ** **_power_ ** **_of_ ** **_change_ ** **_by_ ** **_..."_ **

_How_ _many_ _inhumans_ _?_

**_"_ ** **_I'm_ ** **_Lincoln_ ** **_,_ ** **_both_ ** **_of_ ** **_your_ ** **_transitioner_ ** **_."_ **

_How_ _many_ _more_ _lives_ _at_ _stake_ _?_

**_"_ ** **_Its_ ** **_a_ ** **_spy's_ ** **_goodbye_ ** **_."_ **

_Sacrificing_ _yourself_ _for_ _those_ _who_ _made_ _you_ _feel_ _loved_ _._

**_"_ ** **_He_ ** **_would_ ** **_say_ ** **_,_ ** **_'_ ** **_come_ ** **_on_ ** **_girl'_ ** **_."_ **

_Meeting_ _someone_ _related_ _to_ _your_ _past_ _._

**_"_ ** **_The_ ** **_names_ ** **_Antoine Triplett_ ** **_."_ **

_What_ _are_ _you_ _going_ _to_ _do_ _about_ _it_ _?_

_**"** _ _**Sorry** _ _**I** _ _**can't** _ _**go** _ _**with** _ _**you** _ _**,** _ _**Director** _ _**Fury** _ _**assigned** _ _**me** _ _**to** _ _**another** _ _**mission** _ _**in** _ _**New** _ _**York** _ _**."** _

_The_ _tide_ _is_ _rising_ _._

_**"** _ _**This** _ _**is** _ _**Skye** _ _**and** _ _**her** _ _**friend** _ _**...** _ _**Sorry** _ _**kid** _ _**,** _ _**what's** _ _**your** _ _**name** _ _**?"** _

_Its_ _all_ _connected_ _._

_**"** _ _**Wait** _ _**what** _ _**??** _ _**Why** _ _**do** _ _**I** _ _**have** _ _**to** _ _**go** _ _**to** _ _**sokovia** _ _**!"** _

_There's_ _nothing_ _else_ _you_ _can_ _do_ _but_ _watch_ _._

_**"** _ _**With** _ _**the** _ _**Avengers** _ _**now** _ _**disbanded** _ _**thanks** _ _**to** _ _**the** _ _**sokovian** _ _**accords** _ _**,** _ _**we're** _ _**the** _ _**only** _ _**ones** _ _**left** _ _**to** _ _**protect** _ _**the** _ _**world** _ _**."** _

_Time_ _will_ _tell_ _._

_**"** _ _**I** _ _**am** _ _**a** _ _**god** _ _**you** _ _**dull** _ _**creature** _ _**!" "** _ _**And** _ _**I** _ _**was** _ _**given** _ _**a** _ _**curse** _ _**by** _ _**a** _ _**god** _ _**."** _

_Good_ _turns_ _bad_ _,_ _who_ _turns_ _the_ _bad_ _to_ _lost_ _?_

_**"** _ _**Daisy** _ _**,** _ _**this** _ _**isn't** _ _**you** _ _**!"** _

_And_ _who_ _will_ _save_ _th_ _ose_ _from_ _being_ _broken_ _once_ _again_ _?_

_**"** _ _**Just** _ _**keeping** _ _**one** _ _**of** _ _**my** _ _**promises** _ _**."** _

_Its_ _time_ _._

_**"** _ _**You** _ _**stupid** _ _**child** _ _**,** _ _**you** _ _**must** _ _**bow** _ _**before** _ _**the** _ _**god** _ _**of** _ _**..."** _

_Its_ _a_ _long_ _way_ _to_ _go_ _._

_**"** _ _**A** _ _**30,000** _ _**foot** _ _**drop** _ _**is** _ _**fun** _ _**.** _ _**I've** _ _**done** _ _**it** _ _**before** _ _**."** _

_Grab_ _your_ _weapons_ _._

_**"** _ _**We** _ _**have** _ _**guns** _ _**.** _ _**You** _ _**have** _ _**a** _ _**camera** _ _**.** _ _**Sorry** _ _**kid** _ _**but** _ _**your** _ _**out** _ _**of** _ _**luck** _ _**."** _

_Looks_ _are_ _deceiving_ _._

_**"** _ _**Little** _ _**girl** _ _**,** _ _**your** _ _**boss** _ _**barely** _ _**managed** _ _**to** _ _**get** _ _**out** _ _**of** _ _**this** _ _**mission** _ _**alive** _ _**.** _ _**What** _ _**makes** _ _**you think** _ _**you** _ _**can** _ _**?"** _

_The_ _gods_ _will_ _come_ _back_ _._

_**"** _ _**Um** _ _**coulson** _ _**,** _ _**can** _ _**you** _ _**not** _ _**mention** _ _**me** _ _**when** _ _**your** _ _**talking** _ _**with** _ _**them** _ _**?** _ _**Its** _ _**a** _ _**long** _ _**story** _ _**."** _

_When_ _they_ _do_ _,_ _so_ _will_ _the_ _aliens_ _._

_**"** _ _**No** _ _**one** _ _**is** _ _**saying** _ _**Skye** _ _**and** _ _**the** _ _**girl** _ _**chose** _ _**this** _ _**."** _

_How_ _long_ _will_ _you_ _run_ _and_ _hide_ _?_

_**"** _ _**Destroy** _ _**this** _ _**place** _ _**and** _ _**find** _ _**her** _ _**.** _ _**She** _ _**is** _ _**here** _ _**,** _ _**I** _ _**can** _ _**sense** _ _**it** _ _**."** _

_Here_ _they_ _come_ _._

_**"** _ _**My** _ _**name** _ _**is** _ _**Bobbi** _ _**Morse** _ _**,** _ _**coulson** _ _**sent** _ _**me** _ _**."** _

_Ready_ _._

_**"** _ _**Let's** _ _**bring** _ _**down** _ _**the** _ _**house** _ _**!"** _

_Set_ _._

_**"** _ _**He's** _ _**hydra** _ _**..."** _

_Hide_ _._

**_"_ ** **_You've_ ** **_only_ ** **_delayed_ ** **_the_ ** **_inevitable_ ** **_!"_ **


	3. 1: The Team

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and so it begins. please don't hate this took a lot of my mental state to even decide to rewrite it. I tried to make this as less cringey as possible :( also I'm sorry for the grammar, I never learned English right. and I can't do descriptions well so I'm sorry about that too

_ The secret is out. _

**_"It is time for the ritual. Bring the girl."_ **

_ For decades, your organization stayed in the shadows, hiding the truth. _

**_"My lady, it is time to change."_ **

_ But now we know--- they're among us. Heroes. _

**_"Free the other prisoners. I'll grab the girl."_ **

_ And monsters. _

**_"You were born to be created the monster you hate."_ **

_ The world is full of wonders. _

**_"How are you still the same as this picture?"_ **

**Location: East Los Angeles, CA**

A little boy stared at the Avenger toys on display, a small frown on his face. A few paces behind the boy was his father at a hot dog stand.

"Thanks, Bernie."

"You bet."

The father walked over to the boy, calling him over. "Ace, come and get it." The man said, handing his son the hot dog.

Ace's father noticed the boy's grim face, so he decided to try and cheer him up.

"What do you say we go to your aunt Mindy's this weekend? You and Kisha can swim in the pond." He said, smiling down at his son.

"Sure." The boy said simply, staring at the toy figures once again. The man's face fell slightly, hurt and guilt evident in his eyes.

Ridding of the feeling, he walked closer to his son, putting his hands in his pocket.

"You know, you got a birthday in a couple of months. Who's your favorite?" The father asked, glancing at figures as he leaned forward towards his son.

Ace's lips tugged upward lightly, shrugging. "I'm okay."

The man's face fell completely, feeling the sadness of his son. 

"Hey." He turned Ace around gently by the shoulder and crouched down to the boy's level.

"Things are tight right now, but I'm gonna find something. Not at the factory-- but I got prospects."

The man said to his son, who just stared at him.

"You and me, what are we?"

"We're a team." The boy responded, getting a chuckle from the father.

"That's right."

Turning his son around to face the toys, the man spoke, cheering his son up.

"So, who do you--"

The man was cut off when there was an explosion in a building that was very close to them.

Ace was quickly covered by his father, who glanced up at the building in shock. People ran and screamed around them, trying to run from the small pieces of glass. Some took out their phones and started recording.

"Are you okay?" All right, look at me." The father said, turning Ace around. The boy nodded, not knowing how to react.

"I need you to stay here with Bernie, okay? People might be hurt, and I'm gonna see if they need my help." The boy's father said, guiding him towards Bernie.

"Watch my boy!" He shouted, running off towards the building.

**Location: unknown**

"There's been an explosion. I'm the closest person to be able to head over either before or when those hackers arrive." A young agent stated, not looking up from her tablet as she addressed her superior. The tablet showed several angles of the burning building, as well as any authorities on their way to the scene.

The agent, a young girl about 18 years old, had dark olive skin and dark green eyes, as well as a pair of dark red glasses. Her hair was long and wavy, reaching just below her back. The top of her hair was a honey brown that faded to an almost silver color. She wore a black tactical top with a light polymer vest. The pants were regular skinny jeans, but had knee pads and wore some ankle-high combat boots and on the vest was a logo of an eagle. On the table in front of her, was a large backpack with white flower designs, and a large advanced digital camera next to it.

"You know you are not supposed to be out in the field. Especially on simple missions like these." Her superior, Director Fury, had said, turning to look at her.

She was leaning back on the chair, balancing herself on the back of the poor chair as she continued to look at the tablet. "Put your feet down." 

"You're no fun." The girl pouted, moving her feet and steadying the chair.

"It's best to stay away from missions like these. You can get careless at times." Fury crossed his arms, watching as the young girl looked at him offended. 

"Hey, it's not my fault!" She yelled, standing up.

"And does that little voice in your head agree with you?"

"That  _ voice _ in my head only comes out during emergencies thank you very much." Fury looked at her, tilting his head as if she was kidding.

"You've developed a whole different personality, these days it's called multiple personality disorder."

"I don't have-- can I just go to the sight?" They stared at each other for a moment, until the girl spoke again. "Technically, I'm  _ your _ boss." She watched in delight as Fury glared at her, but eventually conceded.

"Very well. Recon only. Blend in with the crowd. After that, report to Hill for your briefing for a new team assignment."

"Team? You actually think a team of rookies are gonna be able to handle the mess that's gonna they're gonna enter?" The girl began packing her stuff, grabbing the jacket that had been behind her.

"Agent Daniels, you'll find that these rookies are capable. You'll see for yourself. And as for your special trait--" he continues before the girl holds up her hand. 

"I'll get a handle on it. From what I've been told, I can easily manipulate people by acting like an actual child. Give enemies something to aim at instead of the team, and quickly deduce certain passcodes like it's nothing. But that itself is reckless." She adjusted her glasses, frowning a little while speaking. 

"Both of  _ you _ are a great value to S.H.I.E.L.D." Fury states, causing the girl to look at him quickly.

"I'm a tool,  _ she _ might as well be a child." 

"Then I'll treat a tool and a child as such. Now go, you're dismissed." Fury smirked, waving her off and she scoffed. A figure appears next to her, and her form practically disappears in the shadows.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•° 

A girl in her 20s, stared up at the burning building, her phone filming. She wore a brown jacket, a yellow loose shirt, a purple scarf, blue skinny jeans, and brown boots. Her brown hair reached just above her elbows as her dark brown eyes stared widely at the screen before her.

In an alley not far from the scene, the girl, Agent Daniels, practically materialized from the shadows, wearing a jacket to cover the vest she wore. Fixing the strap of her backpack, she ran out into the street, standing next to the older girl and aimed her camera at the building and began to take pictures, small data being captured on her screen.  Then, a man jumped out of the burning building, a woman in his arms. He had his hood covering his face, but when he looked up after putting the woman down, he saw both girls staring at him for a few seconds. Both young women were shocked and reacted late as he pulled down his hood over his face and ran.

The girl next to Daniels silently cursed and looked back at the man's direction before putting her phone away and helping the woman instead. Daniels took pictures of small like craters the man left and moved her camera to her hip, going to help the woman as well.

_ We can't explain everything we see. _

**_"H-how are you doing that?"_ **

_ But our eyes are open. _

**_"Please, don't leave. I won't tell anyone, I promise."_ **

_ So what now. _

**_"We'll call it S.H.I.E.L.D."_ **

_ There are no more shadows for you to hide in. _

**_"We will come for you, child."_ **

_ Something impossible just happened. _

**_"Hey, did you see that girl!"_ **

_ What are you going to do about it? _

**_"Discovery requires experimentation."_ **

**Location: Paris, France**

_ "Agent Ward, there's been a development. It's the Rising Tide. They've pinned down the location of the package, we need to abort." _

"I'm five minutes away from retrieving it."

_ "So is everyone else. They posted the coordinates online."  _

"If the job was easy..."

_ "Yeah, it wouldn't be any fun. Watch your six." _

A man pulled up at a building on a motorcycle in Paris. He took off his helmet, revealing Agent Grant Ward. He looked around briefly, before heading towards the back door. Unzipping his jacket, he took out a silver tray and quickly changed into a waiter uniform. Ward walked to the back door of the kitchen. Walking towards the customer, the agent he was working with spoke over his earpiece.

_ "Red tie, by the window."  _

Ward saw his target and approached a man with the red tie talking amongst another man.

**_Bold italics= language_ **

**_"May I take your glass, sir?"_ ** Ward asked the man in front of him politely.  The man nodded and resumed talking to his guests. 

Ward grabbed the glass and walked upstairs without being detected. He scanned the fingerprints of the glass on the cloth, as he closed in on his destination.

Changing back into his normal attire, Ward opened the door quietly and looked around.

There was a shower running and some french music playing in the background. Looking around in the living room, he stared at the fireplace for a moment. Then, activating the tray, he scanned the walls slowly, looking for a hand scanner.

He took out the painting that was on top of the fireplace after finding the scanner. Glancing around one more time, Ward gently put down the picture and walked over to the scanner.

Gently putting the cloth over his hand and putting the code, he managed to get the fireplace to slide up. As it did, it revealed all kinds of cases, money, and boxes.  He found a small black pouch and picked it up. Ward walked out but stopped when he saw a blonde woman in a robe, staring at him out of boredom.

"Your fireplace is broken," Ward stated lamely.

Two men then stormed in and Ward immediately took action. He grabbed the tray and threw it at the first guy, making the man wince in pain as he doubled over in pain.

Ward lunged at the other guy who was about to draw his gun. He grabbed the man's arm, slamming him into a bookshelf, and twisting the gun out of his arm.  He threw the man on the couch, making him topple over. During all of this, the woman just rolled her eyes and walked away.

The first guy grabbed Ward and tackled him to the floor, right in front of the fireplace. It started sliding down, with Ward still on the ground.

They moved out of the way and the guy got Ward in a chokehold.

_ "Ward, we've got possible hostiles in your vicinity."  _

"Really?" He said sarcastically, pushing himself and the man both back. They tripped over the other couch, making it fall over with them.

The woman-- now dressed-- glanced at the men fighting, before walking out of the building unbothered. Ward kicked the first guy, making him fall back into the living room. The other guy pushed Ward into the kitchen, tackling him.  Ward blocked the swings of fists before grabbing the blender and smashing against the guy's head.

He fell to the floor, just as the other guy got up again. Thinking quickly, Ward grabbed a drawer and used it to block the guy's punch. Then he put it over the guys head and punched it really hard, breaking it and making the collapse. Making sure the guy would be down, Ward kicked the guys head towards the oven, hard.

Breathing heavily, Ward glanced around before running off. He ran all the way to the rooftop, where he spotted his extraction.

He ran forward and jumped, catching the rope. It lifted him up and flew away.

**Agent Hill's field office**

**Location: classified**

"What does S.H.I.E.L.D. stand for, Agent Ward?"

"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistic Division."

"And what does that mean to you?"

"It means someone really wanted our initials to spell out S.H.I.E.L.D," Ward remarked, with a slight smirk.

Noticing Agent Hill's straight face, he corrected himself.

"Its means we're the line. Between the world and a much  _ weirder _ world. We protect people from the news they aren't ready to hear. And when we can't do that, we keep them safe."

Hill looked at him as she raised her head in approval.

"Something turns up, like the chitauri neural link." Ward continues, taking out the item and sliding it over to her.

"We get to it before someone bad does." The agent finishes, as Agent Hill inspected the item.

She stood up, walking over to an agent holding a containment box. "Any idea who Vanchat was planning to sell it to?"

"I'm more interested in how this Rising Tide group found out about it. I thought they were just hackers. What changed?" Ward asked as Hill dismissed the agent.

"Everything's changing." She said, walking towards Ward.

"A little while ago, most people went to bed thinking that the craziest thing in the world was a billionaire in a flying metal suit." She continued, glancing at him.

"Then aliens invaded New York and were beaten back by, among others, a giant green monster, a costumed hero from the '40s, and a god."

"I don't think Thor's technically a god," Ward stated.

"Well you haven't been near his arms. The battle of New York was the end of the world. This, now, is the new world. People are different." She clarified.

"They have access to tech, to formulas, secrets that they're not ready for."

Ward leaned forward, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Why was I pulled out of Paris?"

"That you'll have to ask agent Coulson."

"Uh yeah." Ward said sarcastically. "I'm clearance level six. I know that... Agent Coulson was killed in action before the battle of New York. Got the full report." Ward continued, still looking up at his superior.

In the dark back corner, Agent Coulson stepped out, smiling at the now shocked specialist.

"Welcome to level 7."

°•°•°•

In another room, the girl now recognized as Elizabeth Daniels, leaned back on her chair, watching the two screens displayed for her. She had already been briefed by Hill, and had asked for video surveillance on this agent Ward.

On the left side, was the security footage of where Agent Hill was with Agent Ward. And on the right, was a video footage and report of two young scientist agents.

_ "Sorry, that corner was really dark and I couldn't help myself." _ She heard Coulson say, sounding sheepish as he talked to Agent Ward. The conversation continued, and Daniel's looked down at the folder of the team she was joining.  _ This Grant Ward seems like a strict rules kind of person. And his previous S.O was someone named John Garrett. Interesting. _

_ "You want me to cross them off?" _ Elizabeth looked up at what Ward said, watching as he looked at his superiors, thinking he understood what they were talking about.

The girl snickered at Coulson's response. She looked at Hill and saw her glance at the camera, giving a nod. Turning off the screens, she grabbed her things and walked out of the room.

°•°•

"And it's not just Ward. Your whole roster is sketchy." Hill remarked.

"Well, they're cleared," Coulson confirmed.

"I would have been very happy to not clear you, Phil. I'd love for you to rest up some more." The doctor stood in front of them, frowning slightly.

"I've had plenty of that. Thanks." Coulson said, smiling slightly.

"You sure?" Maria stepped forward, concern evident in her eyes.

"You should go some time." Coulson smiled, noticing his friend giving him a curious look.

"Where?"

"Tahiti. It's a magical place."

Maria chuckles, rolling her eyes slightly. "Three days in and I'd be begging for an assignment."

"Exactly." He smiled once again, before walking out of the office. Once he was gone, her face fell.

" _ Tahiti _ ." The doctor said in disgust as he stood next to Maria.

"He really doesn't know, does he?"

"He can  _ never _ know." Maria stated, dropping her gaze, before walking away.

°•°•°•

In an office, there was a woman with shoulder-length black hair and a white button-up shirt. The woman had dark brown and features of Asian descent. She sat on a desk in a room that lit up with the desk lamp next to her as she stapled papers and organized files.

"Agent May."

She stopped working, knowing what this conversation is going to be about. 

"No."

"So you've been briefed."

"I'm not going back in the field." May said, continuing to organize papers.

"Yeah. You've got such a nice set up here. You ever thought of adding a moat?"

She looked up at him, seeing his smiling face.

"I just need you to drive the bus, liaise ground Transpo, some on-site supervision. This isn't a combat op."

"Then you don't need me." She said, clicking the stapler.

"I do." Coulson confirms, walking over.

"Cause we'll be running ourselves. Picking the ops, making the calls, no red tape." He stopped and looked around.

"This is where they actually make the red tape, isn't it? I've always wondered."

May’s lips almost twitched into a smile, and looked down.

"Melinda."

May looked up at her old friend. "You're really just asking me to drive the bus?"

"I'm not asking." He said, starting to walk away. "But it's a really nice bus."

°•°•°

Agent Ward walked towards the giant plane, impressed by the size of it. He took off his sunglasses as he approached the rear of the plane. As he walked on the ramp, he heard shuffling and bags moving.

He saw a woman that looked in her twenties. She had shoulder-length brown hair, a pink button-up shirt, dark blue jeans, and sneakers. She picked up a few bags and what looked like a sniper rifle.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa! That's the _night night gun._ " Said a man with a Scottish voice. He wore a plaid jacket hoodie, dark blue pants, and converse. He had curly dark dirty blonde hair. The man took the sniper away from the woman and she rolled her eyes.

"Well it's on my stuff, and it doesn't work, and there's no way we're calling it the  _ night night gun _ ." The woman said, having a British accent.

"The bullets work. Non-lethal, heavy stopping power, break up under the subcutaneous tissue--"

"Oh, with a dose of only 1. micrometers of dendrotoxin. I'm not Hermione, I can't create instant paralysis with that."

They talked over each other, not noticing Ward standing there. He dropped his duffle bag, creating a loud thud. The scientists stopped talking and looked at his direction.

"Fitzsimmons?" He said bored.

"Fitz." The woman said, pointing at the man across from her.

"Simmons," Fitz said, pointing back at her.

"I'm engineering, she's biochem." Fitz continued, the last part in slight disgust.

"Agent Ward?"

Ward nodded and walked over to Fitz. "Coulson said I'd need my comm receiver encoded."

"Don't know if you've worked with that model before." Ward said, looking at Fitz as he walked over to the counter.

He set it down and grabbed a hammer on the side. "It's--"  _ smack _ . "Brand new." Ward finished, watching Fitz destroy it.

"He'll repurpose the I.D.I.S. chip." Simmons said, writing down a few things, not bothering to look up at the agent.

"Don't need the external receiver for the inner ear comms anymore." Fitz said, inspecting the broken device.

Ward took off his ear comm and spoke. "So uh, how does it--" he was caught off by Simmons as she appeared suddenly and put a cotton swab inside his mouth, taking a sample of saliva.

"Embedded sensorineural silicone matched to your DNA. It's very posh." Simmons smiled, taking out the cotton.

"So, are you excited to be coming on our journey into mystery?"

"It's like Christmas." Ward said sarcastically. They heard tires screeching and turned to see a 1962 Red Corvette pull up on the ramp.

"One of Coulson's old S.H.I.E.L.D. collectibles," Fitz said as he and ward watched the car.

The superior agent stepped out of the car, grabbing a bag from the back seat before securing his car. 

"Flamethrowers, the world's first GPS. He's mad for this crap."

"Don't touch Lola." Coulson said to an agent who approached the car.

"And he calls it a girls name." Fitz snorts and slaps Ward on the back before walking away.

"Lola's not just a collectible, you know. People tend to confuse the words 'new' and 'improved'." Coulson stated as he and Ward walked upstairs.

"This mobile command, they were in heavy rotation back in the 90s, but then we got a helli-carrier. Fury gave this to me as a present." Coulson continued as they walked across the lounge.

"Hey, did you hear the one about the guy who's afraid of flying?" He joked.

"I've done a night jump into a drop zone under heavy fire, sir. I can handle it." Ward said seriously.

"That was a...joke. The first part of a... I'm not gonna tell it now."

May walked towards the two men. "If you plan to unpack, make it quick. Wheels are up in five." May said, handing something to Coulson. Ward stared, almost looking in shock as he saw who was in front of him.

"We may have a lead on one of the Rising Tides routing points." May continued.

"Good. We need to do some catching up." Coulson said, looking at the file in his hand. May nodded and went back to the cockpit, not glancing at Ward. Ward himself looked in disbelief as he saw  _ The Calvary _ walk away.

After they disappeared, Ward looked at Coulson. "Is that... Who I think it is?"

Coulson glanced up at Ward and in the direction of May. "She's just a pilot." He said simply.

"Melinda May is 'just the pilot'. Come on, sir. What game are you really playing?"

Coulson closed the file and looked up at him. "Better stow your gear." He said before walking away.

The ramp closed and everyone was prepared to take off. Fitzsimmons were down in the lab, organizing and putting in place. May began piloting the plane out of the base, Ward was in the corner of the lab, checking the weapons inventory. Coulson sat in the main corridor, looking at the computer in front of him before turning to the window, frowning slightly.

In one of the private rooms, sat Elizabeth on the bed, drawing something on a piece of paper. She had yet to interact with most of the team, but that was something for a later time.

_ How will you come at us? _

**_"You think you can stop what's coming?!"_ **

_ From the air? _

**_"Sniper, take cover!"_ **

_ From the ground? _

**_"Those men were swallowed up by the ground."_ **

_ How will you silence us this time? _

**_"How can she still speak? The shockwaves are over 500 jolts!"_ **

_ How can you? _

**_"We can't put it down! It's coming closer!"_ **

_ The truth is in the wind. _

**_"Mistress, we caught this child killing all those pitiful men."_ **

_ It's everywhere. _

**_"She is too destroy the village or her family suffers!"_ **

_ You cannot stop the Rising Tide. _

**_"Miles isn't this just a myth??"_ **

_ You will not find us. _

**_"Take the creature away and kill its loved ones."_ **

"You will never see our faces, but rest assured--- we will rise against those who shield us from the truth."

**_"I trusted you. Why did you do this?!"_ ** __

"And nothing, NOTHING, can stop us in the--" The van door slid open, the young woman from before appearing to Coulson and Ward.

She turns casually and stares at them. "Hey. What up?" She asks before Ward places a black bag over her head.

°•°•°•°•°

Ward and Coulson walk on the ramp, the younger agent guiding the woman as Coulson glances behind them, making sure they weren't followed. As they headed to one of the interrogation rooms, Coulson knocked on the door of one of the private rooms.

Reaching the interrogation room, Ward set her down on the chair, taking off the bag that was over her head in the process. 

The woman looked frazzled, glancing at Ward before turning to Coulson. "You guys are making a big mistake."

Ward tilts his head slightly, smirking a little. "You don't look that big."

Coulson sits in front of her, a small smile on his face. "Sorry for the lack of finesse. Agent Ward here has had a little history with your group-- the Rising Tide."

"I don't know what you're--" She starts quietly but is cut off by Ward.

"Ok, there are 2 ways we can do this."

"Oh! Is one of them the easy way?"

"No."

"Oh."

"What's your name?" Coulson asked calmly. He watched as she hesitated at first, which made him think of a few possibilities as to why.

"Skye." She said softly, nervous now. Ward immediately thought she was lying so he stepped forward.

"What's your  _ real _ name." Ward asked harshly, emphasizing 'real'. Skye looked up at him, hurt evident in her eyes.

"That can wait. It's another name we need. A certain hero." Coulson spoke up, still keeping a calm front.

"What makes you think I know that?" Skye asked Coulson.

"Well, you made a little mistake. The phone you filmed the hooded hero with had the same cryptographic signatures as a few of 'The Rising Tide' posts." Coulson said, opening a file in front of her.

"Wooow, yeah. Was that a mistake? Or am I now sitting in the center of your secret headquarters? What is this, a plane?" The girl questioned, looking around, her previous nervousness gone.

"I got inside. And by now you've discovered you can't beat the encryption on my equipment, so you got nothing." Skye confidently stated.

"We have a fairly strong coincidence-- you being on the scene before it went up in flames. Wanna tell me what my team is gonna find there?" Coulson said, tossing another file towards Skye.

A knock on the door interrupted the conversation. Ward frowned, going to open the door. Imagine his shock when he sees a girl younger than Skye, stand in front of him. "Agent Ward." She acknowledged him before looking over his shoulder, looking at Coulson. "Sir, Fitzsimmons are on sight."

"Let her pass, Agent ward." Dumbfounded, the male let the young girl pass, standing behind Coulson while holding a tablet in her hands.

"How did you know the hooded man was in the building?"

"Did you blow it up to draw him out?" Ward asked, standing over Skye.

"Did  _ you _ ?" Skye asked, glaring up at Ward.

"That's not our style." Coulson clarified.

"I was just kidnapped by your 'style'! S.H.I.E.L.D. covered up New Mexico, project pegasus. Of course, you'd be covering up Centipede ." Skye said in a matter of fact tone.

Elizabeth looked up from the tablet and smirked a little.  _ So that's what they're called. _ Ward stepped back a bit and pretended to scratch his ear as he looked over at Coulson.

_ Centipede _ ? Ward mouthed, but Skye caught on what was happening and a smile formed on her face. She looked at both Coulson and Ward, then at Elizabeth, who rolled her eyes at Ward.

"Holy no way." Skye laughed, still looking at the 2 male agents.

"You don't know what that is." She said in slight disbelief at the fact that  _ S.H.I.E.L.D. _ didn't know about Centipede.

" _ Billions _ of dollars of equipment at your disposal, and I beat you with a laptop that I won in a bet?"

Elizabeth covered her mouth to prevent herself from making any comment.

"You need to think about your friend. We're not the only ones interested in people with powers. We'd like to contain him, yeah. But the next guy will want to exploit him. And the guy after that will wanna dissect him." Coulson said, leaning forward on the table.

Ward came up again and put his hand on the table, leaning in towards Skye in an intimidating way. "What is Centipede?"

°•°•°•°•°•°•°

Fitzsimmons and May walked into the secured building, careful of the burned debris everywhere.

"This was a lab. Was this leased as a lab?" Simmons asked, looking around the area.

"Self-empowerment center," May said, looking around as well. She chuckled as she saw something on the floor. "With a top of the line motion sensor security system."

"Ah, so a  _ secret _ lab." Simmons exclaimed, smiling as she looked down at a burnt body.

"And a superhero. Not a coincidence. So was this explosion sabotage? Was it meant for him? Or were they just in over their heads?" May asked as Simmons began to take samples from the bodies.

Fitz then entered the room with a giant briefcase. "Yea, working with the problem. Ladies, if you'll just-- sorry." Fitz said, as he walked in between May and Simmons.

"If you're gonna be in the field Agent Fitz, you have to get your hands dirty." May said, smirking slightly at the young Scottish agent.

"No, I don't." He muttered, typing a few things on a tablet. Small drones flew out of the briefcase, spreading across the room as they began to scan the area.

"Heigh-ho, off to work you go~"

°•°•°

"Centipede. It was chatter on the web and then gone. I traced the access point Mac address to that building." Skye said, walking around the room.

Ward sat down, eying her suspiciously. "What were you after?"

Skye stopped and turned around, facing Ward. "The truth. What are you after?"

"World peace."

_ Sounds like something everyone would say to feel special. _ Elizabeth thought, rolling her eyes slightly as she did some research on the tablet.  _ Note to self, keep an eye on Ward _ . 

"You pseudo anarchist hacker types love to stir things up. But you're never out for the fallout. People keep secrets for a reason,  _ Skye. _ " Ward said, getting in Skye's personal space.

"Well, just because you're reasonable and... Firm. Doesn't mean that you're not an evil, faceless government toolbag." Skye said, poking his chest, making him back up a bit exasperated.

"Just give us your guy's name!" Ward said, growing tired of this.

"He's not my guy!"

"You understand he's in danger." Coulson stated calmly.

"Then let me go! Let me talk to him. Me, not the T-1000 here." Skye said, gesturing to Ward.

"You wanna be  _ alone _ with him, of course." He scoffed walking in front of Skye.

"She's a groupie. All this hacking into S.H.I.E.L.D., tracking powers-- she might as well be one of those sweat cosplay girls crowding around Stark tower." Ward argued, looking at Coulson, who was just staring at all of this. Coulson calmly stood up and continued to stare at them.

Skye's face turned to disbelief and slight embarrassment. "What?! I would-- it was one time." Skye said, muttering the last part.

Coulson opened the door to the interrogation room, looking back at the taller agent.

"Ward." He said sternly. He glanced back at Elizabeth, and she nodded, turning off her tablet and going to the chair that Coulson was in.

Ward and Coulson walked out, leaving Elizabeth to watch Skye. Once the door closed, she simply stared at Skye, knowing she had questions and would crack soon.

"You were the kid who helped me earlier with that woman. How are you S.H.I.E.L.D?" Skye asked a second later, leaning forward on the table.

_ Huh, she cracked sooner than I thought. _

"We don't know anything about her. Do you appreciate how much that happens? That  _ never _ happens." Coulson said, setting down a small briefcase. He typed a few things on it and opened it, revealing a light clear liquid and a syringe.

"We need what she knows."

****

°•°

****

"You're saying you're a consultant? That doesn't make sense!" 

"Believe it or not. My parents were friends with the Director, and I wanted to follow in their footsteps." 

****

°•°

****

"Oh my god." Simmons muttered as she bent down and picked up an item from the ground after the scans went off like crazy.

"Explosive?" May asked the biochemist as she stepped forward to look at what she found.

"Not of this earth." Simmons breathed, holding the item up in the light.

****

°•°

****

"This is QNB-T16. It's the top shelf martini of sodium pentothal derivatives. It's a brand new and extremely potent truth drug. Don't worry, the effects only last about an hour. Agent Daniels." Coulson said, looking over at Elizabeth. 

She nodded and stood, waving at Skye, who looked scared and left the room.

"And you'll have a nice little nap. And we'll have all the answers to our--" Ward was cut off when Coulson injected the drug into the specialist.

"Hey! What the  _ hell _ ?!" Ward hissed, looking at Coulson. Skye just stared in shock. 

"I'm sorry, did that hurt?" Coulson asked, smiling sheepishly.

"No. But you've lost your mind. You should never do that to a member of your team. And yes, it did hurt a little bit. But I always try to mask my pain in front of beautiful women cause I think it makes me seem more masculine. My  _ god _ this stuff works fast." Ward said quickly, sitting down on the chair.

Skye smirked as Coulson walked towards the door. "Don't trust us? Ask him whatever you'd like." He said smiling, opening the door. 

"This is definitely against protoco---" The door slammed shut before he finished.

****

***

****

"This should be an interesting turnout." Elizabeth stood next to Coulson, staring at the screen in front of them before looking down at the tablet.

"This gives Skye a chance to see that we aren't the bad guys." He glanced at the girl next to him, wondering about her full story.

"Something on your mind sir?"

"Why did the Director assign you to this team? It's unlike him to assign anyone specifically." Elizabeth turned to Coulson, his eyes holding nothing but curiosity. 

"Why does Director Fury do anything? I guess he owes my parents something. Allowing me to be on the field gives me experience, and have the freedom to learn about the world." The girl shrugged, crossing her arms. That was the story she and Fury decided to go by.  _ No one could know.  _

****

°•°

****

"Did Agent Ward give you anything?"

"He told me he's been to Paris, but he's never really seen it. That he wants Liz off the plane and that he wished you had stayed in Tahiti."

"Liz?"

"It's a magical place." Coulson said, smiling at Skye.

"Ward doesn't like your style. I think I do." Skye said, glancing around.

"And what about his?" Coulson asked, swiping a tab on the hollow table onto the screen on the wall, showing a news report.

****

_ "...Remains in critical condition. Employees could not identify the attacker, but security footage confirms that this man assaulted the factory foreman, before damaging thousands of dollars worth..." _

"Th-this is wrong. This is not the guy I met. He was..." Skye paused, glancing at Coulson and Lizzie. Sighing, she looked down

"He just needs a break."

"Then give him one, what have you got?"

****

°•°•

****

Elizabeth walked back to her room as the briefing started. Though technically she was a part of the team, she had no official business as she was a consultant. She had yet to meet Fitzsimmons, and she already knew Ward's sentiment over her.

Instead, she sat on her bed, pondering over the nickname Skye had given her. It was nice and short, and it had been a long time since she had gotten a nickname from someone.  _ A long time indeed. _

There was a knock on the door before it slid open and Coulson stood there, crossing his arms. "You know, the whole team is supposed to be being briefed."

"You guys can manage just fine without the consultant. And Skye was more important, given she had the details and knew the person. "

"If you don't show up to the next one--"

"I know Coulson. I'm still a kid, so my attention span is a bit short at times. And you don't need my opinion on this mission. It'll turn out fine." She looked up at the older agent, smiling warmly at him.

Coulson stares at her for a few moments before sighing and nodded a little. He told her to meet Fitzsimmons later and said that Skye would be heading ahead to unscramble audio from the burned building. She nodded and waited until Coulson was completely gone, before going over to her tablet and frowning at what she saw on the screen.  _ Please turn out fine. _

****

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

Daniels, Coulson, and Ward walked towards the van with policemen close behind. She had the strap of the camera over her shoulder, the camera facing away as she stood next to Ward. Coulson held a megaphone in his hand as he talked to Ward for a moment before turning back towards the direction of the van.

"Mr. Peterson, good morning. We're not a threat, we're to help. But you're in danger and we need to take you in." Coulson said through the megaphone.

They waited a couple of seconds before the van door broke off and flew open, heading in the direction of everyone. Ward jumped out of the way, as did other people. Coulson bent back, low enough for the door to slide past him.

Liz had moved out of the way quickly, the door barely missing her and she slid next to a female officer who helped her keep her balance. 

Mike took the chance and grabbed Skye and Ace, speed walking inside the train station. Lizzie put the door down and ran inside, quickly disappearing in the crowd.

Skye Looked around as Mike dragged her through the building. She spotted a group of guys that obviously looked dangerous. As they neared each other, Skye took the chance and kicked one of the guys in the shin.

"You're right, he is a little bitch!" She said smiling slightly. The guys charged at Mike, giving Skye the chance to run.

"Ace get back!" Mike shouted as he moved his son behind him.

Skye ran fast, moving people out of the way.

Mike grabbed the first guy in front of him and through his over his shoulder, causing the guy to go up in the air. The guy fell in a load of luggage, causing people to back up. He punched the second guy, sending him flying in a direction. The third guy took the chance and attacked him in the front, ready to punch Mike hard in the face.

But Mike grabbed the guy's arm and pinned it down, twisting and breaking the man's arm, before he was pushed back into the luggage.

Mike looked around, trying to find his son, who had disappeared. "Ace!" He shouted before the last guy grabbed a small met pillar and hit him across the back.

The metal bent against Mike's back, as the man stood tall, unaffected. He turned around, staring at the guy, before punching up in the air, the man screaming.

In a car outside of all the commotion, the female doctor that was saved looked out the window, seeing cops run inside. She looked at the rearview mirror, nodding to a man dressed as a cop. The man obliged and got out of the car, a shotgun in hand.

Coulson found the little boy, quickly going to him to make sure he was alright. He guided Ace to an officer, who nodded.

"Get him out of here." He said firmly. The officer nodded and Ace's hand.

"I want my daddy." The boy pleaded as he was being walked away.

"I promise."

****

°•

****

"Ace!" Mike yelled, looking around for his son. He screamed his son's name, before Ward kicked his knee, making Mike kneel down.

Taking the chance, Ward put Mike in a chokehold. "Look, the stuff inside you is unstable. It'll kill you and everyone in here." Ward stated as Mike began to struggle more.

"Who's gonna miss us?!" He yelled before getting up and running backward, Ward's back hitting a stand. He grabbed the specialist arms and threw him over his shoulder, knocking the air off of Ward's lungs.

Mike looked up, seeing Skye running further away from the chaos. The man disguising himself as a police officer entered, pushing people out of the way. 

Skye tried to escape through the employee exit, but it was locked. Mike jumped to where the hacker was, gripping her arm tightly. The man spotted Mike and raised his shotgun, firing at a nearby vase. 

They ducked and Mike decided to go where Skye was headed. He kicked the door open and ran, still gripping Skye's arm.

The man went through the other door, certain to hit his mark.

****

°•°

****

A police car pulled up and May got out of the car. " _We're at the north entrance, May."_ Coulson said over the comms as he approached Ward.

He helped the specialist up, looking around. "You told them to hold fire." Ward exclaimed.

"I don't think that's us." Coulson clarified, looking around once more. Daniels was nowhere to be seen, which made him worry a little. " _We may have a third party here."_ Coulson said over the comms once again.

"He's gonna head down to the tracks. You stay high, I'll go low. Only take the shot if you have to Ward." Coulson said, watching the specialist walk away.

"Ward!"

"If I have to." He clarified, glancing back at Coulson.

****

°•°•°•

****

Mike and Skye are now all the way up. He dragged Skye to the platform, as she struggled. "Y-you gotta stop!" She said, finally freeing herself from his grip.

"These people can help you!"

"The men in suits? That's your buddies now! Where'd they take my son?!" He yelled, dragging Skye again. They both looked down the railing, trying to find the little boy.

That man had finally caught up to them. He raised his gun and fired through the glass. "Get down!" Mike yelled as he pushed Skye out of the way.

The man shot again, hitting Mike in the shoulder. The force from the shot made him stumble backward. Everything went in slow motion as Mike fell off the railing and onto a newsstand.

Satisfied, the man raised his gun at Skye, wanting to make sure there were no witnesses.

As he was about to fire, both Daniels and May appeared. They attacked the man behind the knees, making him bend down in pain. May grabbed the shotgun, forcedly yanking it out of his hands.

Liz jumped over May's back, kicking the guy right in the chest. The man stumbled back, trapped in a small daze as he tried to get air. May flipped the guy over his shoulder, making him groan as he tried to get back up. Taking the chance, both May and Liz punched him, hard, in the face.

Skye looked at them in shock and awe, giving a small smile of gratitude. Daniels went over to Skye and helped her up before the three went back downstairs towards Mike.

°•°

Mike stood from the broken stand, punching the debris out of his way. His face was sweaty and glowing orange as he looked around.

Coulson calmly walked towards the raging man. He had a gun in his hand as he stared at Mike determinedly.

Mike breathed heavily as he watched Coulson slowly put down his gun and slid it away from him. He narrowed his eyes and glared at Coulson.

"Think that means anything? I know you got men everywhere ready to put me down. I know how this plays out." Mike snarled at Coulson, looking around for men.

"I don't." Coulson stated calmly.

"I know you got poison in your system. I know it's burning you up." He continued calmly, seeing Mike's breathing quicken.

"Mike, the last guy who wore that _exploded_."

"I'm not like that other guy! I'm-- it matters who I am inside. If I'm a good person. If I'm strong." Mike stated, pacing slightly.

_ "I have a clear shot. Do you copy?"  _ Ward asked, his finger on the trigger.

Coulson ignored Ward and continued. "I know you're strong. Your boy knows it. He needs you to let us help."

"You took him!" Mike yelled. He continued talking, his voice breaking. "You took my wife, my job, my house. You think this is killing me?!" He yelled again, pulling his sleeve as he revealed the centipede. 

Skye, Liz, and May appeared behind Coulson as Mike continued to talk. "All over, there's people being pushed down, being robbed."

He grabbed a metal pole, making people back up more. "One of them tries to stand up? You got to make an example out of him."

The young girl quietly walked further to the side of the scene and silently began to take pictures. "You bring this building down on us, will that them?"

"That's a lie! All you do is lie!" He screamed, smashing the pole to the remaining stand.

Skye flinched as she saw Mike with a now red glow on his cheeks as he stared angrily at everyone. "You said if we worked hard, if we did right, we'd have a place." Mike said softly, walking towards Coulson. 

Ward tightened the grip of the trigger as Liz inched forward slowly, calmly putting her camera down, in case Mike attacked Coulson.

"You said it was enough to be a man. But there's better than man. There's god's." He continued.

Daniels began to tense slightly as a small memory played in her head. She shook her head slightly and clenched her fists, trying to remain calm as Mike continued talking.

"And the rest of us, what are we? They're giants. We're what they step on." Mike sneered, now in front of Coulson.

Mike's words had hit everyone hard, but May could see the young teen trembling slightly as she stared at Mike. Coulson stepped forward, everyone watching as more tension grew.

"I know. I've seen giants, up close. And that privilege cost me, nearly everything." Coulson said calmly, watching as Mike dropped his gaze.

_ Seen giants, up close... Cost me... Everything... _

****

**_Small flashback_ **

****

_ "The gods have blessed our child with the privilege to live until Anubis comes for his bride," Pharaoh exclaimed, smiling down at his daughter with joy.  _

_ "Child, once the marriage is done, we will no longer be here. If you are to ever be alive, the god of the sky shall be with you until Anubis grants you your gift." The pharaoh's wife said sweetly to her child. _

_ "Rise, Miu, it is time to prepare!" _

_ Slowly, Miu, daughter of the Pharaoh stood, a gentle smile on her face as she left to her chambers. _

****

_ ***** _

****

_ Days passed since that day. Miu had not returned yet, but they knew the gods were watching over their daughter. _

_ She had finished the ceremony, but was abducted by some unknown creatures wearing royal clothing. _

_ "Now that you have emerged from the god's shrine, we give you an extra... Gift. Once the rocks fall to the earth, you shall know soon enough." A sickly sweet voice said. _

_ The poor child was strapped to something that was far too advanced, even for the magicians back at the palace. She was soon released with a splitting headache. She had thought no time had passed, but when she managed to see her home once again, the sky rocks mentioned had destroyed the palace. _

_ In the distance, she somehow saw the god of the sky and the god of the afterlife stood in the air, feeling their anger even as she was far from them. Everything began to grow dark around Miu. The last she saw was her beloved and her guardian approach her, sadness and anger in their eyes. _

****

**_Flashback over_ **

****

Liz was snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Simmons smiling in relief. The tension in the room lifted and May directed the medics over.

Coulson smiled at Skye, then looked up at Ward and Fitz, relief clear in their faces. He looked over at the young Agent Daniels and frowned a little. She was the only one that didn't look relieved. May also noticed and went over to the girl.

" _ Subject is in stable condition. All clear at Union Station." _ Coulson reported to Agent Hill.

She smiled slightly and walked out silently.

****

°•°•°•°•°

****

Liz was formally introduced to the others in the team while Skye went with Coulson to handle the situation with Ace and his father.

"You ok?" May asked as she passed the girl on the stool bar.

"Nothing a good old drink to process current events." Lizzie muttered as she downed the scotch. The alcohol was a lot better in this generation, she had to admit that.

May immediately grabbed the cup away from her, ignoring the girl's protests. "Technically you're a teenager still so you can't be drinking."

"I'm older than I look." Liz mumbled, looking over at the 3 rookies immersed in the food and drinks in front of them. Daniels looked down and saw a new mission assignment. Reading it, she sighed, showing the coordinates and details of the next mission to May.

"An 0-8-4. This should be interesting." The girl muttered, standing up from the stool. May alerted the others of the new mission and told Ward to inform Coulson as the two disappeared towards the cockpit. 

****

°•°

****

"Go."

_ "Sir, we've got an 0-8-4."  _ Ward said over the phone as Fitz and Simmons surrounded him while eating some Chinese food.

"Is that confirmed?" Coulson questioned, staring ahead with slight disbelief in his voice as Skye stared at him confused.

_ "They want us to go in and confirm it." _ Ward states, glancing at the scientists. Fitz patted Ward on the back while Simmons drank out of her beer. 

"What's in 0-8-4?" Skye asked curiously.

Coulson turned on the engine of his car and turned to Skye. "You've got exactly 10 minutes to decide if you  _ really _ wanna know."

"There's no way we can make it to the airfield in--" Skye was cut off when Coulson reached forward and flipped a switch on his car. There was a loud humming and the tires switched around. The car began to hover in the air, putting Skye in shock. "10 minutes..." She trailed off, looking around.

Coulson smirked slightly and put on his sunglasses. "The tide is rising."

****

°•°•°•°

_ Now the story begins. _

**_"Come, it is time."_ **

_ How do you think it will end? _

**_"My my, after all this, you're still breathing."_ **

_ So, are you prepared? _

**_"Just don't die out there, ok?"_ **

_ Let's go. _


	4. 2: 0-8-4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying my best here guys plz

**_"S.H.I.E.L.D. 616, you have course confirmation. You are cleared direct to the Slingshot. Agent Coulson, everything alright up there? We heard you had a little dustup on the ground."_ **

**_"Yeah, we're all good. It's gonna be blue skies from here on out."_ **

**_There was an explosion afterward. A giant hole the size of a lifeboat replaced the side of the wall. Debris and a few men flew out the hole, one of the men hitting the thrusters of the plane._ **

**_The controls on the Bus blinked red and an alarm rang loudly. Close to the giant hole, Coulson was hanging on a rope for his dear life._ **

**_"Coulson! Hang on!" Jemma screamed as Liz slowly tried to go over to him._ **

**°•°**

**19 hours earlier**

At a S.H.I.E.L.D base, agents entered in and out of the Bus, checking for inventory and fuel. Right by the ramp of the Bus, Skye's van was parked to the side as she took out a few bags.

She took a hula doll that was at the front of her van and picked up a box, slinging her bags over her shoulder. A guy walked towards her direction, and she figured he was the one that was going to drive it somewhere.

"Hey, no joy rides ok? That's my house."

"No worries." He said, putting a pyramid-shaped device on the top of the car. The engine roared to life and drove away on its own. Skye stared in disbelief.

"Where do they think of this stuff?" She scoffed, walking up the ramp. She passed Coulson's car and a black SUV. Staring around the cargo hold in amazement. 

°•

"Skye? Girl's not qualified to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent." Ward states, staring at his superior in disagreement and resentment. 

"Agreed. That's why I've invited her as a consultant. S.H.I.E.L.D. does it all the time. Technically Stark's a consultant." Coulson said, typing a few things on the holo table.

"And  _ technically _ , Skye's a member of the Rising Tide, she hacked our RSA implementation--" Ward tried to reason but was cut off by Coulson.

"Twice. From a laptop. Imagine what she'll do with our resources." He said, glancing at May who had been very quiet.

"I am. That's exactly what I'm imagining during this frown." Ward answered, Coulson glancing up at him before looking back down at the tablet on his hands.

"You brought me on for risk assessment. She's a risk. She doesn't think like us." Ward continued to reason, leaning in slightly on the holo table.

"Exactly." Coulson smiled slightly, looking at both Ward and May before turning around.

°•

Liz followed behind Fitzsimmons, a box of sour patch in her hands. They emerged from the lab and saw Skye, instantly brightening up. Well, mostly Fitzsimmons.

"Oh, agent Coulson told us the news! What a wonderful surprise. Isn't it Fitz?" Jemma said cheerfully.

"Yeah." He said awkwardly.

"No, it's wonderful. You must be very excited." "Yeah, a surprise," Fitzsimmons spoke over each other and Skye gave them a nervous smile.

"Yep, first day of school." She said, handing the box in her hands to Fitz. "Okay, so... Just-- sorry." Jemma said, passing between Skye to the stairs.

Jemma went up, Skye, Fitz, and Liz following in suit. The young teen had been quiet, already bored of the whole situation. She had a feeling Coulson had grown a soft spot for the girl already. Now she just needed to wait for whatever outcome to occur. 

•

"We have 3 kids on this bus, 2 who aren't clear for combat, one basically a child, and you're adding a fourth," May states bluntly.

"At least Fitzsimmons are trained S.H.I.E.L.D. scientists. But Skye and Daniels? You said this was a select team. Assembled to work new cases, to protect people. I don't see how letting some hacker and a kid tag along--" Ward was cut off by Coulson.

"I'm looking for an objection I haven't already anticipated," Coulson said, glancing at both May and Ward.

"I'm calling this. But your frown will be on record." He continued, typing a few things on the tablet.

"We've been called in to investigate an 0-8-4. We all know what that means." Ward said, getting straight to the mission.

"Yes, we do. It means, we don't know  _ what _ that means." Coulson shrugged, handing the tablet to May. 

She grabbed it and immediately walked away just as Jemma, Skye, Fitz, and Elizabeth entered. The young girl spotted the woman walking away and disappeared from the group, following the older woman. 

"Officially, it's an airborne mobile command station. But we call it the Bus." Fitz said, smiling slightly.

"We find it best to use shorthand when in the field. But everything has to be just so, you know, because of the danger." He continued, emphasizing a little.

"Yeah, I've been up here before. But I didn't see much because of the bag that agent Ward put over my head." Skye stated sarcastically.

"Yes, so sorry about that. Water?" Jemma quickly said, grabbing a water bottle from the counter and offering it to Skye.

Skye accepted and with a nervous smile as May's voice rang over the intercom.

_ "Wheels up in two. Lock it or lose it."  _

Jemma smiled excitedly as Skye looked confused. Fitz, on the other hand, looked like he was about to fall with the box carried high up in the air.

"What's that mean?" Skye asked, confused.

"No backing out now. Let's find a bunk for our guest." Jemma answered, quickly going off in a direction. Fitz nodded and followed his partner.

"Oh, oh yeah, there's one left and it's right next to mine." The Scottish engineer exclaimed, rushing to put the box down. He put it down and pointed at it awkwardly before realizing he was in the way. "Oh sorry." He said quickly, running off.

Skye put her things down and looked around the small bunk. She turned to exit when Ward appeared. "Hey. I know we didn't really--" Skye started talking but was cut off by the specialist handing her a brochure.

"Might wanna read that. This isn't like other planes." He said before walking away.

Putting the water bottle under her arm, Skye opened the brochure and looked at the instructions. "You can say that again." She said to herself.

Coulson appeared next to her, overhearing what she said. "Say what again?"

Skye smiled at the agent and closed the brochure. "Sweet ride."

Coulson smiled slightly and nodded. "I earned a little goodwill from Director Fury when I got hit right before the battle of New York."

"You took a bullet?" Skye asked in disbelief.

"Ish. An Asgardian stabbed me through the heart with a Chitauri scepter. The effect was similar." He shrugged. "Got a few weeks R&R and this plane. Had it completely refurbished. Studs up-- Spared no expense." He continued. Skye stared at him in disbelief again before speaking.

"Yeah, agent Ward told me they sent you to Tahiti."

"It's a magical place," Coulson answered, smiling at her.

"You mentioned that." Skye eyed Coulson as they both head towards the nice-looking couches to sit down. She was about to set the water bottle down on the table in front of them when Coulson stopped her.

"Here. Use a coaster." He said, placing the coaster under Skye's bottle. 

"And buckle up." He continued, strapping himself in. Skye sat down too and did the same.

"I don't even know where we're going." She said, looking up as the lights turned off and she heard a beep.

"Peru. That's where the 0-8-4 was reported." Coulson answered her.

"And an 0-8-4 is...?"

"An object of unknown origin." He paused, looking over at her. "Kinda like you." The agent said, staring at the confused girl's face.

"Team goes in, determines if it's useful or if it poses a threat. The last one turned out to be pretty interesting." Coulson remarked, staring out the window as he remembered.

"And what was the last one?" Skye asked curiously, taking a sip from her water bottle.

Coulson looked over at her and smirked slightly. "A hammer." 

°•

The plane flew for hours, making their way to Peru. Once there, they flew over the forest, where the 0-8-4 was near. Skye looked out the window and looked in awe.

She'd never gone to Peru, so it was pretty exciting. Liz on the other was nervous. Something about this place didn't sit right with her. She stared at the forest from her small room, before turning and grabbing her jacket and bag.

May lowered the plane in a clearing, as everyone prepared and loaded their equipment in the van that had been issued.

They all exited the plane once they landed and the last ones to exit were May and Daniels. The girl spotted a motorcycle and grinned, running off and leaving May. _ I didn't get my license for no reason. _

The older woman rolled her eyes and entered the car, everyone else sitting there awkwardly. Coulson got into another car with a man who would lead them to the 0-8-4.

Lizzie put on a helmet and followed the cars, offering as an extra pair of eyes behind the cars. She had overheard Skye and Fitzsimmons talk about how unusual it was that she wasn't in the car with them, but paid no mind. They drove through a path, the man's car in front while the black SUV and motorcycle followed in suit.

**Incan archaeological site**

**Location: llactapata, Peru**

After about an hour, they arrived at a campsite near an old temple. The tires screeched to a stop and Coulson stepped out, looking around. Ward and the others got out of the SUV while Lizzie parked the motorcycle near one of the tents the explorers had.

"Tire tracks 40 meters back. I'll check them against the site's trucks-- make sure we're alone." Ward said, looking around the area.

"Too much exposure here. I'm gonna find a place to park." May looked around before getting back in the SUV.

Fitzsimmons got their equipment out and walked away from the SUV as it drove off in another direction. Sounds of insects and animals were heard as they walked. 

"I would love to see a Capuchin in the wild. Even a yellow-tailed woolly monkey." Fitz said, looking around as he and Simmons heard the animals.

"You know, um, Peru has 32 different species of monkey."

"Yeah, and close to 200 species of snakes. The shushupe has a fascinating ven-- venom." Jemma states, watching as Fitz bumped his case into the car that led them to the site.

"It's neurotoxic, proteolytic, and hemolytic." She continued excitedly, while Fitz nervously laughed.

"That's fascinating."

"Yeah," Jemma stated, before realizing more things about Peru. "Oh. No, I'd be much more concerned with earthquakes, mala--" Jemma cut herself short when she slapped a bug out of Fitz's neck. "Ah, there's no vaccine for dengue fever!" She continued before gasping slightly at the sight in front of them.

"Oh, look at this". Jemma stared in awe. Before them, stood an old temple, looking around a few centuries old. They walked towards the temple, looking around it in amazement.

"We should warn the people who live around here. If the 0-8-4 is dangerous. They're already dealing with the anti-mining rebels and the shining path Guerillas. I could post something." Skye suggested.

Coulson and Skye walked through where Fitzsimmons were, staring at the temple briefly before continuing to walk.

"Remember the panic when that anti-matter meteor splashed off the coast of Miami, nearly devouring the city?"

"No."

"Precisely," Coulson said, turning to face Skye. "Because we kept it quiet and contained."

"So what am I doing?" Skye asked, confused since she is one of the people who  _ expose _ secrets.

"Well, if it gets out, I might need you to create some kind of diversion, put the public on the wrong scent," Coulson ordered.

"So everything that I'm against," Skye said bluntly, hating the idea of secrets not being exposed.

"Yep." The agent said before walking towards the opening of the temple, where a man exited out of. Fitzsimmons quickly took a selfie as Coulson talked to the professor that led the architects.

The man sighed and looked around before his eyes landed on Liz who walked in, staring at the temple before taking a picture with her camera. Ignoring her, he turned back to Coulson and spoke.

"I-I'm not sure how to explain it. This temple dates back at least 500 years. It's filled with pre-Incan artifacts. One of them is impossible and looks like it might be dangerous." The professor said, seeing Coulson's serious face.

"Well, that's why we're here," Coulson confirmed, as he, Fitzsimmons, and Skye walked in the temple. Coulson briefly told Elizabeth to stay outside and close to May, just in case anything happened.

She had nodded, her face grim as her body tense out of reflex. Something was definitely wrong with this area. Ignoring the feeling, she decided to take out some headphones she built a long time ago and put them on. Taking out her phone, she activates a function that works like amplifying her hearing for more than a few feet.

Before listening to anything drastic, she heard footsteps. Turning around, she saw the professor walking out of the temple, as well as seeing May and Ward from the left. She told the pilot that Coulson asked to watch her, to which the woman only nodded. Satisfied, she began looking around, hearing all kinds of noise around her.

"Tires match the Prof's truck," Ward said walking, forward. He eyed the young teen warily before looking back at May, who he noticed didn't have a gun. 

"Where's your sidearm?" He asked.

"If I need a gun, I'll take one," May stated, walking down the steps of the temple entrance to the right. Liz walks towards the center, in front of both Ward and May as she listens to more sounds.

"Right. Forgot I was working with 'The Calvary'." Ward exclaims, his eyes glancing at her as if waiting for praise. Elizabeth flinched slightly and May stopped walking, glaring at him. "Don't ever call me that."

"Apologies," Ward says, raising his hands in surrender, walking towards a direction as he talked again. May went in the other direction, and Lizzie moved forward again, the smell of gunpowder hitting her nose.

"I've heard the stories. What went down in Bahrain. About you in action. You know it was smart of Coulson to pull you out of retirement."

_ If she was in retirement, then she wouldn't have been at the desks making red tape. _ Elizabeth thought as she rolled her eyes.

"It's nice to have a trusted friend who has your back." Ward finished talking and yank one of the men of Peru soldiers hiding from the bush.

May heard a gun clicking behind her and turned around, grabbing a man's gun and flipping him over. Another man appeared and she punched him in the stomach, flipping him while taking his gun as well. With both down. She aimed both guns in her hand at the men below her.

Two more men appeared. One of them grabbed Liz by wrapping his giant arms around the small girl from behind. The other was about to aim his gun at her when she kicked the guy back and elbowed the other guy holding her. The guy grunted and loosen his grip, giving Liz the chance to slither away and take both men's guns.

She hit them both in the  _ gut _ hard with the guns and they groaned in pain on the floor. Ward looked at her in surprise and was about to question her when they all heard engines nearing their location. Military cars appeared and more men came out, followed by a woman with long hair, a camo jacket, and a commander badge showing proudly as she stepped forward.

Ward grabbed the guy that attacked him and had the man in a chokehold as he aimed the gun in his hand at a few soldiers. May and Lizzie aimed their guns at the men as they yelled in Spanish.

_ "Bajen armas!" _

_ "Suelten los!" _

_ "Para él suelo!" _

_ "¡Bajen las pistolas ahora!"  _

The men yelled and Daniels frowned, eyeing the woman before turning to the soldiers. "Por favor! Bajen armas todos y podemos hacer una tregua!" She yelled in Spanish, surprising both parties. They quieted down but didn't put down their weapons, causing her frown to deepen. 

The woman looked at the 3 people holding her trained men hostage, eyes going wide behind her sunglasses as she stared at the young teen.

__

°•

_ "Sir."  _

"Go," Coulson said to Ward over the walkie talkie.

_ "We have a situation." _

"Lots of rebels in this area," Skye stated, looking at one of the DWARFS before looking back at Coulson.

"Not enough gunfire." He said before talking to Ward again. "Keep working.  _ I'm on my way _ ." The older agent said, walking out of the cave. The young scientists looked at each other warily before going back to controlling the small flying drones.

"Buenos días. Soy agente Coulson. Estamos aquí por un asunto de la seguridad internacional." He spoke, before looking down at the woman walking up with 2 soldiers behind her.

"Phillip?"

"Camilla?" Coulson said, recognizing the woman. "Do you mind?" He continued, gesturing towards her men.

"After you." She shrugged.

Coulson nodded at his agents, his eyes going wide a fraction at the sight of Daniel's standing over two full-grown adults.

"Bajen armas," Camilla said to her men as she walked up to Coulson. Ward eyed her suspiciously as she went up to his boss.

Camilla took off her sunglasses and smiled at Coulson. "And now for a proper hello." She said, lightly kissing him on both cheeks. as they spoke and greeted each other, Daniels put away her headphones, securing her bag and camera before walking up to the temple. Before stepping inside, she glanced at the woman, knowing she had seen her somewhere before.

°•°

_ This is a bad idea, I know. Something about this place just isn't right _ . The young girl narrowed her eyes as she stood a few paces behind Skye, who was talking to Ward about something. She was about to lean against the wall, when her body completely froze, unwilling to relax. Sighing in defeat, Liz quickly shuffled out of the temple, grumbling to herself about what she missed. Ward glanced at her briefly before going back to talking with Skye. Then, the temple shook, causing dirt from the ceiling to fall.

"Sounds like they're engaging with the rebels. Time to go." Ward said, avoiding the dirt getting on his head while pulling out his gun. Fitz slightly argued with Skye while trying to put away the DWARFS. 

"We need a containment case for the 0-8-4," Jemma stated, looking up at Ward.

"There's no time." He said, looking back at the unknown object. Fitz argued about the device, but Ward shut him up. He went over to the unknown device and yanked it out of the wall.

"You did not just pull that out the wall." Fitz freaked out, watching as Ward put the object away in a bag.

Ward zipped up the bag and turned Fitz around, placing the bag on the engineer's back. "Stay close." The specialist says as he walks out the temple first.

"Fitz! Come on!" Jemma said, seeing as Fitz still didn't move.

Camilla's men were spread out, covering for their boss and her friend. Coulson found some cover and motioned Camilla to follow him as the rebels continued firing.

Liz, who had left first, was sneaking behind 2 rebels and quickly took them out before they aimed at the team, who were now hiding by the entrance to the temple. The girl hissed in pain, her head throbbing in pain as she tried to shake it away. 

The young teen's eyes widen slightly as she saw Ward take out a S.H.I.E.L.D. weapon from his jacket. Just as a rebel snuck up to her, she dropped down, just as a blue wave force came through. It pushed back the rebels, some knocked out unconscious. One of the rebels managed to evade the blue wave and loaded his gun, just as the rest of the team got out in the open. They stopped and froze, seeing the gun aimed at them. 

The man fired, but before he could hit any of them, May appeared in the SUV, blocking all the gunshots.

"Move! Now!" May ordered as she opened the passenger seat. Skye was the first one in the car, followed by Fitzsimmons, who eventually came back to reality.

"Wait! What about Liz?!" Skye yelled as May drove off.

"Let's hope she's with Coulson," Ward muttered. May eyed him and continued driving as Ward gave directions.

The rebels followed the 2 cars headed towards the Bus, unaware of a motorcycle header their way. With a helmet covering her face, she drove quickly, the sound of the engines alerting a few rebels. Turning, they saw the motorcycle following them, guns positioned at the front of the vehicle as it began firing warning shots. One of the men yelled in Spanish, motioning for his partners to shoot her.

Her distraction working, she maneuvered to the side, making sure to grab all of the rebels' attention instead of the cars.

The team continued to drive fast, fewer bullets firing at them, and ignored Fitz's freak warning about the 0-8-4 and how it could set off at any moment.

"But Ward--" Fitz yelled, only to be silenced by the 2 specialists.

"Quiet!" They yelled in unison. May pressed a button and opened the ramp to the Bus.

"How fast can you have the wheels up?" Ward asked.

"Fast," May said quickly, driving faster as the car behind them sped up as well.

The SUV drove up the ramp and May quickly parked, getting out the car and running up to the cockpit. The rebels kept shooting at the motorcycle as it drove in front of them, trying to get rid of whoever was there so they could finish the cars.

"What are you doing? Coulson and Liz are still out there!" Skye yelled, standing by the SUV as shots fired.

"Get off the ramp. You're in the line of fire." Ward states, pushing Skye away from the chaos.

The PMP truck stopped by the ramp and Camilla's men got out, covering their boss as Coulson and Camilla walked up the ramp. The rebels had the car parked now, half of them divided and were shooting at the soldiers and the other half tried to shoot down the motorcycle as it circled around.

With a yell, Daniels pressed a button next to her left thumb and caused the motorcycle to propel up. Using the momentum, she flipped the motorcycle over her head, aiming it over the rebels truck as she rolled towards the ground away from the impending explosion. It exploded and she took the chance to run to the ramp, just as it started closing.

Once the ramp closed completely, Liz sighed in relief, practically losing the energy she had earlier and fell to the ground, taking off her helmet as she sat on the floor. 

"Cut it pretty close sir," Ward said, walking over to Coulson and the others.

Liz practically crawled over next to Skye, groaning in pain while grabbing the attention of the commander. She saw a pair of boots stand in front of her, and looked up, seeing Camilla offering her hand. Reluctantly, she took it, giving a small thanks as she shrugged off her bag as she walked towards the lab to sit in a corner.

"Now, what was the problem?" Ward asked, looking over at Fitz who seemed shaken up still.

"As I said before, this device has a high frequency, fluctuating, sub-material compression--" Fitz began but was cut off by Ward.

"Fitz, in  _ English _ ." Ward cuts in, slightly annoyed as he turns to the young scientist.

"The 0-8-4 is fueled by tesseract technology. Hydra, World War 2. Captain America. It's full of lethal amounts of gamma radiation." Fitz glared at Ward.

"Gamma, you're saying it's nuclear?"

"No." Coulson started. "He's saying it's much much worse."

Everyone stared at the bag that held the dangerous device and slowly backed away from it. Camilla stared at the team and the device before going back to her men.

*

Liz hissed in pain as she held her head, shifting in her bed as the figure next to her ran their hands through her hair gently. They hummed softly, before noticing a gunshot wound on her arm.

"Oh, that's nothing."

_ "It is not nothing, beloved. You should not have gone to the temple." _

The girl groaned as the figure began patching up the wound in her arm. It wasn't deep, but it would scar a bit. She stared at the figure lovingly as they wrapped the injury neatly. They smiled softly and kissed the top of her head as they disappeared. 

"Thank you."

" _ Always, beloved." _

Mustering enough energy, she changed into a white tank top and put a giant gray sweater over, black ripped jeans, and a pair of boots. Elizabeth put her long hair in a ponytail and grabbed her camera, walking out of her bunk. Upon seeing them, she quietly moves towards the stairs that lead down to the lab.

As she walks towards the stairs, she spots Camilla and Coulson. The older agent notices her first and tells Camilla to wait a moment.

Walking over to the young teen, he sees that she is a bit tense. "Hey, are you ok?" He asked, his eyes holding nothing but concern.

"Yea, just a little tired." She lied. The young girl glanced at the woman by the stairs, before looking back at the man in charge. Coulson frowned but nodded. Liz excused herself and walked past him. As she walked downstairs, the woman eyed the girl before Coulson gestured upstairs towards his office.

__

°•

"The tesseract energy excites plasma with an inverse population of energy levels," Fitz said, as he and Simmons saw the scans of the 0-8-4.

"A laser." Simmons realized.

Fitz nodded. "A ray... Of pure energy-- two terajoules." He shrugged.

"See? We're lucky the drones didn't trigger it while we were taking electromagnetic readings. This is a weapon, powerful enough--"

"Enough to melt through 50 feet of solid rock to bury itself," Simmons said, cutting off Fitz. "Imagine what it could do to a person."

"Yeah, or an airplane," Fitz stated, causing Simmons to look at him.

"For example." He continued, going back to his spot and they continued scanning the device.

°•

"Hunger games?"

"Matterhorn. One of a hundred books my S.O. gave me that I'm just getting around to." Ward answered, looking up to see Skye's confused face.

"S.O. - supervising officer." He clarified.

"Got it. Hackers have lingo too. But I'll pick yours up." The young hacker said. "Feel like you and me-- wrong foot. Can I, buy you a drink?" She asked, holding up a bottle.

Ward looked at her before chuckling slightly and shrugged, motioning over. The rest of the time they talked, finally coming to some truce with each other. 

The scientists were downstairs while the young teen stayed close by, looking at something on her tablet. The specialist and hacker were hanging out in the lounge and the pilot sat alone, piloting the plane to their next location. Majority of both parties on the plane, not aware of the danger approaching fast.

°•°

"I forgot you were such a sentimentalist, Phillip." Camilla jokes, making Coulson chuckle slightly as he watched her.

"Romanticizing history." She continued, walking over to see more of his collectibles.

"Most of it is glued down," Coulson warned, still watching her, as she tried to take one of the collectibles out of the shelf.

"There was an elegance to things back then."

"There we agree," Camilla claims, slowly moving away from the collectibles and making her way to the door.

"With everything around us changing so quickly, it doesn't hurt to have a few touchstones to the past. Reminds me what's important." Coulson states, leaning against his desk.

"The last thing I want to do is relive days gone by. A few nights maybe." The woman says, closing the door quietly.

"I see what you're doing." Coulson stares at Camilla, his eyes indifferent.

"I'm reminiscing. This plane is such a step up from the R.V. we used to work out of when you were stationed in Cusco." She shrugged, leaning against the wall.

"I don't remember much working," Coulson said, making the woman in front of him chuckle a little.

"I also don't remember you being this direct." He continued, narrowing his eyes slightly. Camilla stared at him, her smile fading slowly.

°•

Ward glanced at the 2 men playing cards, their glasses still completely full. The men nodded at each other, making Ward's brain start to think of a strategy.

"Skye." He said calmly. "Hand me the bottle."

"Okay, turbo. But you're still nursing the one you got." The hacker clarifies, slightly confused as she passes him the bottle.

"I'm not the only one." He looks right at Skye, signaling a warning with his eyes. Skye takes notice and moves her head slightly.

°•°

Downstairs in the lab, Fitzsimmons worked on figuring out the 0-8-4. Daniels sat in a chair off to the side and close to the door, looking over at something on her tablet while keeping an eye on the young scientists. Unaware of the two men staring at them, Liz closes her eyes for about a second to relieve the pain in her head before she hears the doors open. Opening her eyes, she is met with a large wrench to the face, knocking her to the floor and alerting Fitzsimmons of danger.

•°•

"We're stuck above the clouds for the next few hours. We might as well enjoy ourselves." Camilla said seductively.

"We could make a few more memories to add to your collection. What do you think?" She continued, stepping forward with a hand on her hip.

Coulson looked at her briefly, before smiling slightly. "I think... Ward already knows you'll have to eliminate May from the equation to have a chance. Which gives him about 20 seconds to get to her first." He said, walking up to her.

•°•

Ward continued to stare at the men, slowly moving his hand to Skye's shoulder.

The men stared at each other for a few seconds before jumping up. Thinking fast, Ward moved Skye out of the way and grabbed the closest guy, smashing the battle of the guys hand.

°•°

Upstairs in the cockpit, one of Camilla's men walked up quietly with a device in hand. He connected the device to the door and pressed a button, activating the device. It drilled a small hole through the thick metal door.

May flipped a few switches above her as she continued to direct the plane, unaware of what was happening.

°•°

Back downstairs, Ward punched a guy across the face, making him fall back. The guy's legs bumped into the small wall behind him and he fell backwards.

Another lunged at Ward as Skye quickly went out of the way. Ward grabbed the guy that lunged at him by the shirt, pulling him back against the wooden pillar.

°•°

Camilla stared at Coulson for a couple more seconds, before bringing up her hand, trying to slice Coulson with the knife she had. The superior agent managed to avoid the attack and grabbed her arm, pushing her entire body towards the side as he quickly made a run downstairs.

He ran down the steps, seeing Ward and Skye look at the screen as it showed live footage of Fitzsimmons being held up, a small knife held tightly against Fitz's neck as he weakly struggled to break free without cutting off a vein. Liz was knocked out and tied up behind them, a small trickle of blood on the side of her head.

One of the men that was hiding somewhere, grabbed Skye by the arms as she struggled to break free. More men appeared from their spots, one going towards Ward while the other two went towards the cockpit.

Coulson was pissed. Furious, he turned his head and walked towards Camilla. A person he once considered a friend.

"We were allies. We had a history. When did you decide to throw that away?"

Camilla stared at him again, before glaring at the man in front of her. "As soon as I saw a brat and your team." She sneered.

Coulson looked back at the screen, debating on what choice to make. Thinking their lives would be saved by sacrificing his, he took the choice.

°•°

Coulson grunted in pain as a man from Camilla's group punched him in the face. The woman called her soldier down as she saw Coulson spit out blood.

"The reason I'm still alive is because you need me to verify the changes of routes for you pilot when HQ calls in any minute now." Coulson calmly stated, though his mind was racing rapidly.

Why wasn't Liz down with them? She was unconscious, strapped tightly on the other side of Coulson, with 2 armed guards aiming their weapons at the young girl. He also noticed that her hair was a bit brighter than before.  _ Was it just the light? _ He didn't know what to think at the moment. But he needed answers, even if it was a simple answer.

"I'd appreciate that," Camilla said, cutting the agent from his thoughts. He glared slightly, watching as Camilla moved around the holo table.

"But if I don't, S.H.I.E.L.D. will shoot this aircraft out of the sky. That'll take the 0-8-4 out of your hands. Maybe I should let them." He sternly said.

Camilla, however, didn't seem fazed. She smiled slightly and leaned against the table, looking down at Coulson. "Oh no, I think you'll make the call. You already handed me your plane for the life of one of your little lab rats. If I open the cargo hold, you lose them all. And you are such a sentimentalist." Camilla said sickeningly sweet, before pausing for a couple of seconds. 

She looked back at the unconscious tied up young agent and glared. Coulson also looked at the young girl, both confused and scared.

"Well, not all. I would take this one back to where she escaped from. Thanks to you, I've managed to find the rat."

Coulson looked back at Camilla, glaring daggers at her.

This was going to be a long ride.

°•°

Sitting up, with their backs against the closed cargo hold, Skye, Simmons, Fitz, and Ward stared ahead while May laid unconscious next to Skye.

"This is my fault. I should've learned kung fu." Fitz sighed, looking over at his best friend while Skye looked at him weirdly.

"But I shouldn't have pushed you into the field in the first place." Jemma reasoned, looking back at her best friend.

"You weren't ready." She sighed.

"Uh, we-- we weren't ready," Fitz said, beginning to argue slightly.

"It was my job to make a proper threat assessment," Ward spoke up. 

Annoyed, Skye stated the obvious in her eyes. "This wouldn't have if agent May wasn't on the stick. She would have busted out some of her ninja know-how. Her and Liz." Sky exclaimed, earning looks from the agents.

"Agent May? No, no, no." Fitz argued. He ignored the fact that the young teen was capable of fighting someone. It was most likely self-defense. Though yes, she was an agent-- a consultant he was told-- Fitz saw her nothing more as a teen who learns simple karate lessons.

"She transferred from administration." He continued, earning a nod from Simmons and a side glance from Ward.

"Well, I've seen her and the kid destroy a guy, so..." Skye determinedly says.

The scientists looked at her and then looked at the specialist, who had an amused look on his face. Ward couldn't say anything about Daniels since she was one mystery that wasn't solved yet in his brain, ever since she was brought aboard.

"You've heard of the 'Cavalry'?" Ward breathed, careful not to say it out loud in case May woke up.

Both scientists nodded. No one would ever forget about the Cavalry rumors and stories. "Everyone at the academy talks about--" Fitz started then stopped when both scientists realized.

"She's the  _ Cavalry _ ?!" They both said loudly, causing Skye to look at them weirdly once again.

"I told you never to call me that." May's voice rang bluntly as the four people whipped their heads towards the source. May opened her eyes and sat up slowly, ignoring the young scientist's faces.

"I can't believe it! Oh, we're sure to get out of here now." Simmons exclaimed excitedly before asking the obvious question. "Um, how do we get out of here?"

May grunted as she finally stopped moving, quickly looking up. "Can't go through the doors. They're bolted tied to the pressurization lines." She said, pausing a little.

She looked back at the scientists and eyed them. "You two geniuses have nothing?"

Fitz felt slightly offended. He moved his head back, looking at May and Skye, who was basically wondering the same thing. "Well, it's hard to concentrate in these intense situations."

"Hey." Ward calmly said to Fitz. "Don't freeze up. Take a breath. You don't need to come up with the whole solution. Just part of it, right?" Ward said, looking over at Skye who smiled slightly.

"Yea, pieces solving a puzzle."

°•

Coulson and Camilla talked, not noticing the unconscious girl slowly opening her eyes. Her head throbbed in immense pain, and she felt different.

_ Time to have some fun. _

She sat up slowly, not noticing the guns aimed at her.

"No te muevas." One of the men said, grabbing the attention of Camilla and Coulson.

"Ah, she's awake. Now we can have a nice little---" Camilla stopped talking midway, staring widely in fear.

The girl no longer had the same honey brown hair and cheerful dark green eyes. Her glasses were hanging on the edge of her nose, close to falling off.

Her eyes were dangerously brighter and full of anger as she stared daringly at Camilla's brown ones. As if she was tempting Camilla to do something to her like the times before. Coulson stared wide-eyed in slight terror, not having the right words at the moment.

"Camilla Reyes. Come to claim prizes again? Punish people again? Grabbing a weapon that you don't even know how to use? How pathetic."  The taunt in her voice was cold and different somehow. The men instantly backed away, scared out of their minds. It also sent shivers down Camilla and Coulson's spines. The same _voice_ that  haunted the Peruvian woman for months. She'd thought that one day she would find her, finally getting the real  _ reward _ she deserved. 

"Sir, are you unharmed?" The girl said calmly now, looking at the shocked agent. Breaking from his trance, Coulson nodded slightly.

The girl sighed in relief before going back to glaring at Camilla. "It was smart of you to actually knock me out first. Last time one of your men locked me and her in that cell with that rope,  _ she _ had to dislocate both her arms. That hurt. A lot."

"Scarlet, the name I gave you after you were surrounded by all that blood from all _my_ _men_ ," Camilla said, finally regaining herself. She walked over and bent down to the girl's level, placing a hand on the shot wound from earlier. The young agent hissed in pain and her eyes burned.

"You and _her_ are still very important. For now, enjoy the ride." Camilla sweetly said as one of her men tied a cloth around her mouth.

_ You'll regret it, Reyes. _

°•°

**_CRACK_ ** . 

" _ What _ the hell was that?" Fitz cringed as the loud echo disappeared.

Ward calmly glanced at Fitz before looking back up. "Her wrist." 

Ward and the other three watched as May disappeared from sight. One of the men watching them did a double-take when he noticed that one was missing. Before he could react, May used her legs and grabbed the guy's neck, flipping him over the railing. 

Once the guy was down, May jumped and cracked her wrist back into place.

"What's next?"

°•°

"Was it 11 years now? You swooped in with S.H.I.E.L.D. with so much confidence, so much mystery. You had 100 men at your disposal. And now--"

"A hand-picked team." Coulson finished, staring right into Camilla's eyes.

"And yes, they're  _ that _ good."

He quickly glanced at Lizzie-- or Scarlet-- as what he heard from Camilla when they talked.

The brown-haired girl was trying to break free. Coulson noticed a red stain growing on the girl's arm.  _ Damn _ . The girl mentally cursed as she looked over at the stain.

"You're having a midlife crisis," Camilla said teasingly, cutting Coulson from his thoughts as she patted his leg.

"More of an after thing, really," Coulson said, looking back at Elizabeth. She shook her head and motioned for Coulson to continue distracting her.

"And I'm not going to even mention the red corvette," Camilla said, sitting across from him.

"Her name’s Lola." 

"Of course it is." The woman laughed as she leaned back. "It's textbook. You built this team so you could feel relevant, to feel needed."

"They don't need me." Coulson counters determinedly. "They need time."

"Well, time is  _ not _ on their side. Especially for her." Camilla said, her sick smile fading.

"No, but you gave them something better," Coulson said, a smile forming on his face.

Camilla tilted her head slightly, confused. 

The teen on the other stopped struggling and smiled through the cloth, thinking that the team may have finally gotten over their problems.

"A common enemy." He said.

_ Now we need to wait for the right moment _ . She thought to herself. Her other self would have yelled and screamed as she escaped, but giving a chance to the team who were trying to get along would help them. So she quietly worked on undoing her binds, waiting for the right moment.

°•°

The four people whipped their heads towards the sound of the running car. May stood just out of the car, staring boredly at them.

"You guys talk a lot." She simply said, before going in the car. Ward quickly moved Fitz and Simmons, as Skye was already in the far corner.

May stepped on the gas pedal and drove the car straight into the lab doors, causing the plane to shake.

Ward and the others walked over, quickly going inside the lab to proceed with the plan.

Upstairs, Camilla's men quickly ran, ready to attack the team. "No, no, no! Es exactamente lo que quieren." Camilla said, quickly stopping her men.

She didn't realize that the bonds around the girl were almost loose. The young girl's eyes widen slightly, making sure to take the chance. She pulled slowly, trying not to snap her wrist.

**"S.H.I.E.L.D. 616 we have radar contact. Requesting confirmation on a change in course. Over."**

_ Crap.  _

Camilla took out her gun and aimed it at Daniels. "Answer it, or they all learn what a 30,000-foot drop feels like." She threatened.

**"Agent Coulson, are you there? You have course confirmation. You are cleared direct to the Slingshot."**

Seeing Camilla look at the holo table, Coulson took the chance to loosen the rest of his rope.

He heard humming and looked to the side, seeing one of the dwarfs going over to the 0-8-4. He quickly tied the rope back and hung on to the pole as HQ spoke again.

**"Agent Coulson, everything alright up there? We heard you had a little dustup on the ground."**

"Yeah we're all good," Coulson said, looking up at Camilla. He glanced at Liz then, who nodded as she tilted her head back, her glasses coming back into place.

He saw her hair change to its original brown color, but she kept her eyes a bright green color.

"It's gonna be blue skies from here on out." He continued a determined look on his face.

•°

"Simmons, forget what I said before," Fitz said to his partner, as he typed a few things on the tablet controlling the dwarf.

" _ This _ is the moment that we'll regret." He continued.

Simmons pressed her back against the wall, while Skye and Ward calmly stood in their positions.

He pressed the button and activated the device.

°•

**BOOM!**

A giant hole replaced the wall. Two of Camilla's men flew off the hole, one of them hitting the thrusters.

Liz took this as an advantage and continued to pull on the rope, managing to get one arm free. Camilla, seeing the girl breaking free, made her way over and punched the girl across the face.

"Oh, Camilla. You shouldn't have done that." She muttered. Her hair turned back to its honey brown color and her green eyes glowed with anger. Having no other choice, Liz dislocated her other arm, screaming out in pain.

As the binds fell loose and out the hole, the young girl jumped forward and headbutted the woman. Camilla screamed and rolled close to the hole and Coulson reached out, catching her hand.

In the corner of her eye, saw Ward and the others. Ward was fending off the soldiers while the other three went for the 0-8-4. Sighing in relief at the others being alright, she let herself relax a bit, her eyes and hair going back to their regular dark state. Using her good hand pushed her glasses up, and slowly took off her jacket, tying it around her waist.

Ignoring the throbbing pain in her head and arm, she went to help Ward, who was fighting a guy close the giant hole.

The plane all of a sudden moved forward, causing more of Camilla's men to fall into the hole.  _ May might be taking back the plane _ , Liz thought to herself and slowly went over to Ward, who was now hanging on a wooden pillar.

"Ward!" The girl yelled as she held out her hand. The specialist didn't think twice and grabbed her hand, surprised by how they both weren't flying now.

Noticing his hands were slipping from her small grasp, Ward grabbed her bad arm, gripping it tightly. Liz screamed out in pain, tears forming. She saw Skye grabbed one of the lifeboats, activating it and releasing it towards the hole.

Lizzie let go of the pillar holding them as they both flew towards the lifeboat, fortunately not flying off through the hole.  With the hole now patched, the team walked towards the bar, exhausted from today's event. 

"I read the safety pamphlet." Skye breathed, sitting down on the stool.

"I think you might be the first," Ward claimed, as they all sagged against something in relief.

"No other way in, huh?" Coulson sighed as he placed a glass cup on the table.

"Was just starting to warm up to this place." He continued as he watched Skye put a coaster.

"The 0-8-4 is cooling and stable. But we should call HQ and get it to the slingshot as soon as possible." Fitz breathed, looking tiredly at Coulson.

The agent nodded and turned to Camilla who sat on the floor, her hands tied up where Coulson was before. "Told you they were good."

Ward looked down, digging in relief before his eyes widened. He turned around, seeing Liz sitting on the floor, putting bandage wraps around her wrist poorly.

Her eyes were red and puffy, and her clothes had small blood stains all over. Ward eyes her warily before walking over.

"Hey, kiddo." He said calmly, sitting down on the floor.

"Hey." She said simply, before wincing in pain.

"Why don't you let Simmons take care of that." He suggested. Ward stared at her as she stopped, looking down at her wrists.

"Alright."

•°•

**The Slingshot**

**Location: classified**

As people repaired the damage to the Bus, Coulson checked his car for any scratches. Skye walked over, putting her phone in her back pocket as she looked at Coulson.

"Not a scratch. But your plane's totaled. I hope S.H.I.E.L.D. insurance covers hijackings." She said, crossing her arms.

"Sure, under 'incidentals'," Coulson said, looking up at her.

Skye chuckled. "What exactly and I signing up for?"

"Like I said." Coulson paused for a second, smiling slightly. "Front row seat to the craziest show on earth." 

"Yeah, but I didn't expect the show to get  _ this _ crazy, this fast. All for an object you're just gonna destroy." The young hacker exclaims, motioning towards what is going to happen to the 0-8-4.

"Slingshot is a protocol. A weapon like the 0-8-4 is too dangerous for any person or country to have. People like Reyes would always be after it." Coulson stated, as he wiped a smudge from his car.

Skye and Coulson continued to talk, not noticing the grumpy young teen wearing a sling to hold up her injured arm.

Her right shoulder where the gunshot was wrapped in bandages and two stitches while her left arm had the sling. She sat on the ramp, grumpily staring ahead. Simmons told her that she can't pick anything heavy or train for that matter for at least 3 weeks. Though within a week her wrist can heal, Liz didn't bother arguing with the woman.

She turned and overheard May and Ward's conversation, her curiosity taking over.

"She could turn into a solid asset... With some serious work. Her and the kid." Ward thought it would be smart to at least train her. As May and Ward continued checking inventory, the Calvary suggested and S.O. for them.

Ward did a double-take after realizing what May meant. "All right. I'll do it."

"Just to clarify, you were, uh, talking about me, right?" Ward asked. May rolled her eyes slightly and smirked a little.

"We blew up a plane!"

"I had a new experience. You had a new experience. But it was new for all of us." Jemma exclaimed happily as Fitz carried a small fridge full of beers.

"They're happy," May said, looking at the young scientists as they sat down on the ramp.

Fitz then began to explain how long it would take the rocket to fly up to the sun while Simmons handed out drinks when the others joined.

Liz saw the others sitting relaxed and took out her phone, taking a picture of them before standing behind them. _ This team isn't half bad. _

"How many of those have you guys had?" Skye asked, smiling slightly.

"Skye." Simmons laughed. "It's important when in the field to unwind from time to time."

"Yeah, especially after a hard day of everyone almost dying," Fitz added, as Coulson walked over.

"It doesn't happen every day, right? It's an anomaly-- and irregularly. Not... The norm." Simmons finished.

"Speaking of not the norm, whose idea was it to blow a hole in the plane," Coulson stated, looking at everyone.

Elizabeth stared at Coulson before looking at the nervous faces of the agents, wondering whose idea it was.

They all stared at him nervously. Skye looked down quickly, then back at Coulson. "May said that the doors were tied to the pressurization, so I thought--"

"So  _ we _ thought it was the only way to release them." Simmons corrected.

"It was everyone's idea, sir." Ward clarified.

"Yea, it was quite genius really," Fitz added nervously, not really wanting to get in trouble.

Coulson stared at them, before smiling slightly. "Nice work." He watched as everyone relaxed.

Liz looked ahead as they called for liftoff, replaying today's events. Coulson had questions, she knew that even without looking at him.  _ I have to tell him something _ . 

The young girl sighed in defeat and stood, walking from the team staring at the rocket. She noticed Skye was on her phone typing something. She brushed it away and thought about how Fury would be coming to yell at Coulson.

_ This ride is gonna be even crazier.  _

°•

"Six days? It only took you six days to take a completely renovated piece of state-of-the-art machinery and turn it into scrap?!" Fury yelled at the agent.

"My team acted with my authority."

"Don't talk to me about authority." The director exclaimed, walking towards the bar.

"Do you know how much this plane cost? It's got a bar! A really nice one." He continued, looking down at the full bar.

"Talking to me about authority. You know I have the authority to downgrade your ass to a Winnebago." Fury said, walking back to Coulson.

"I'm aware of that, sir." Coulson started calmly.

"Well, I want it fixed.  _ Just _ like you found it. So don't have Fitzsimmons go making modifications like, uh, damn fish tank!" The one-eyed man stated. 

"Yes, sir."

Fury started walking, when he remembered something. "And the new girl. She's a risk." He warned.

"I know, sir," Coulson said, staring right at his boss.

" _ You know, sir? _ " Fury repeats before walking past him.

"How's Lola?" He added casually.

Coulson smiled and turned. "She's fine, sir. Thanks for asking."

"Talking to me about authority." Fury muttered as he walked away.

Once Fury was gone, Coulson put a hand on his earpiece. "Yea, we're gonna have to kill the fish tank."

•\•

The young teen stood outside, far from the plane as she waited for Director Fury to finish hearing the reports from the agents.

Her eyes were once again brighter, but her brown hair remained. She has her good arm gently crossed over the other as she waits for the Director to walk out. Once he makes eye contact with her, he silently walks over to her as she watches him.

When she spoke, her voice sounded tired, like a mother who was tired of conflict with her child. "We need to talk."


	5. 3: The Asset

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this directs a bit away from the episode but its fine cuz that's how I wanted it. the subconscious part I want to do, instead of immediately being another person in her brain, it grows form like one sentence to a whole personality. I'm trying i just don't how to do it properly yet. rewriting is a lot of work :((

_ "It's ok kiddo. You can hang with me till we find your relatives." The man ruffled the girl's hair, earning a playful pout. _

_ "But I like hanging out with you, Derek!" The girl exclaims, her pout now turning into a frown. _

_ "I like being with you too, kid. But it's not my place to take care of you. My job is really tough. I don't think---" _

_ "I'll work with you." The girl cut him off. Derek stared at the girl in front of him, shocked. _

_ "Kid--" _

_ "Derek." She said seriously. For over the weeks they hanged out since they first met, the person in front of him had never been serious. _

_ "I don't have anyone else to trust." Her voice was now soft. The girl's eyes pleaded like it was staring right at his soul. _

_ Eventually, he gave up. "Alright." He sighed. The serious look in her eyes disappeared and she smiled happily. _

_ "You are one of a kind, Lizzie," Derek said, ruffling her hair once again. _

_ "Let's just say I have a gift." She replied back, a goofy grin on her face. _

_ Her green eyes shined, making it seem like there were stars in them. Though he wanted to deny it, Derek wanted to keep her safe, even if he didn't know much about her. _

_ "Alright then. Let's get to work." _

**_8 month later_ **

_ A few police officers entered the hallway of the tech college the girl was in. Derek had forced her to go to school to maintain a cover story. Though he knew about her real life and other 'job', he managed to convince her to have a sort of undercover assignment so that it was believable to why she was working with him. _

_ She had gotten out of her programming class early, having been called by the front office to discuss a matter. Without thinking much of it, she walked towards the front of the school. Upon entering the main hall, she saw two police officers, talking with her advisor and the head principal. _

_ Fear took over, but she instantly buried it, channeling a bit of her other self as she slowly walked over to them. The teen fumbled with her camera, having a job with Derek after her classes, and being allowed to bring it with her. Eventually, she was in front of the three adults, her backpack weighing her down heavily as the senior officer spoke first. _

_ "I'm sorry to say this but--" the officer started before his eyes grew wide with terror. The girl was shaking, an unknown aura being sensed in the room, sending chills down everyone's spine. _

_ "It's Derek, isn't it." She said softly, looking down. _

_ "Y-yes. He was shot dead in his car, near a hotel parking lot." The younger officer said, slightly less terrified but still wary of the girl before them. _

_ Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she remained blank, nodding slowly. "Can I be excused to go home early? I have an interview I need to do." _

_ "Miss, wait. I understand that you and Mr. Jefferson had a very important interview but--" _

_ "Derek would want me to do this. To find out what happened to him." She muttered as she walked away without an answer from the head principal. The officers, her advisor, and the head principal watched solemnly as the girl practically ran out. _

°•°

Liz jolted up, looking around panicked as she took her surroundings in. There were beads of sweat on her forehead and she breathed heavily. Realizing where she was, the girl forced herself to calm down. Looking at the time on her phone, she sighed, knowing she would be late if she didn't change.

Daniels still had a bit of trouble moving her wrist, the thick bandage wraps restricting her movement. She wasn't allowed to take off the bandage wraps, so her wrist was very itchy.

She managed to tie her hair in a ponytail after changing and walked out of her bunk, headphones around her neck. The teen managed to make it around two minutes before Ward said anything. 

The specialist instructed her to do a few weighted squats, to increase her endurance and so she didn't lose balance in any low attack aimed at her. She nodded, putting on some music as they both waited for Skye to arrive. Immersed in her training, Liz didn't realize how much time had passed, until she took off her headphones to get water and heard Skye speak up.

"I thought I was joining S.H.I.E.L.D., not 24-hour fitness." She heard the hacker complain.

"It's called relative strength training, starting with the basics," Ward informs, checking the wraps around her arms.

"And next time, you do 15 push-ups for every minute you're late." He continued.

"Fine, Mr. Fun machine. Better than pull-ups." Skye said sarcastically.

The teen sat by the stairs, drinking from a water bottle that Fitz provided for her as she watched Skye and Ward interact. 

"Daniels managed to come here before the time, but that doesn't mean she gets special treatment. I'd make her do push-ups too if it wasn't for her injuries." Ward states, and Liz makes a noise. Both adults turn to her, Skye lazily punching in front of her.

"I'm not doing push-ups. Always hated it. And pull-ups? Seriously?"

"Say what you'd like. I don't ever want to do another pull up again." Skye said, turning to glare slightly at the punching bag. Liz giggled as she saw Skye's face, imagining that it was her doing a pull-up.

"You find yourself hanging off the edge of a building 20 stories up, you'd wanna do at least one." Ward interrupted, killing the fun mood. The girl rolls her eyes, leaning back on the stairs. She glanced at the lab, seeing Fitzsimmons play with some kind of laser. Cool. 

Ward had said something to Skye about changing Ops and talked to Fitzsimmons when May came on the intercom.

**"Changing course, briefing in three,"** May called, getting the young scientists excited.

"Oh! Looks like we're on the move." Fitz said, as he and Simmons took off their lab coats excitedly and walked out of the lab.

**"S.H.I.E.L.D. 616 with new orders, set for Colorado airfield north."** The pilot continued, as everyone went upstairs.

°•°

"Priority red?" Simmons asked, shocked that they would get a mission like that.

Liz was the last one up, seeing as she wasn't in the mood for a mission. She was too busy focusing on an invitation she received when everyone went upstairs.

"The asset was Canadian physicist Dr. Franklin Hall, known for his work---" Coulson was cut off by the young scientists.

"Dr. Hall? He was our chemical kinetics adviser our second year." Fitz exclaimed, now paying more attention to the mission.

"Yeah, he's so enthusiastic about science, we just adored him," Simmons added.

"We can rescue him, can't we?" She asked anxiously.

"He's one of our own. We're gonna try." Coulson said determinedly.

"And the attackers?" Ward stated.

"Invisible," Coulson said, walking away.

"Wait,  _ invisible _ ?" Skye asked excitedly. She laughed, not noticing Liz walk off.

"Cool." She said, before looking at Ward's straight face. "But terrible." She corrects.

°•°

"Dr. Hall was an asset?" Skye asked curiously.

"One of a few select scientists S.H.I.E.L.D. has been protecting, people our enemies would love to get their hands on," Coulson confirmed.

The team was walking down the darkened street, on their way to the last place Dr. Hall was.

Liz ignored the others, glaring at the bandage wraps around her wrist.  _ Glaring at your wrist won't make them heal faster. _ The girl sighed and walked forward, gently grabbing the camera around her neck. She also took her headphones out from her bag and put them on, listening for anything out of the ordinary. 

"It was pretty damn scary. And I don't spook easily, boss." She heard the agent say. Raising the camera to eye level, she began taking pictures of the scene, frowning a little.

"Nothing over our shoulder. But what's scary is they knew our route. They were waiting for us." The agent continued.

"Are you saying they were working with somebody inside S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Coulson questions, staring at the agent.

"Sorry to say. It had to be." The agent shrugged as May and Coulson stared at him. Liz shook her head and continued. That's when she heard a  _ strangely _ familiar humming. She looked around, not seeing anything.

Then she looked in Simmons direction.

"No, whoa whoa whoa! Wait." Simmons exclaimed, pushing Fitz back.

Daniels and everyone walked over to her as she picked up some dirt. The girl realized that the humming was louder, and it was starting to hurt her ears. Taking off her headphones, the girl watched as the dirt floated in the air.

"I think the electrostatic field scanner activated some...thing," Simmons explained, watching in awe.

Everyone ducked and flinched away as the dirt floated around more wildly. "Ok, can we deactivate it? Now?" Coulson suggested, watching it go wilder by the minute.

Fitzsimmons argued as they tried to shut off whatever was happening.

The device in Fitz's hand shorted out and the swirling stopped. Dirt fell to the floor and Simmons noticed a small metal sphere on the ground. Using the tweezers in her hand, she picked up the sphere, confused and shocked.

" _ That _ did all this." She said, as Coulson grabbed the sphere, examining it closer.

"What is that?" Skye asked, taking a small step forward.

"Something big," Coulson stated, staring at the small liquid metal floating in the center.

°•°

_ There are few people who studied whatever was in the sphere, one of them being Dr. Hall. My main concern is how am I going to get out of this interview. _ Daniels groaned, laying down in her bunk. Everyone else was downstairs in the lab, discussing the topic at hand and what steps to take next.

Deciding to take her mind off it-- and cure boredom-- Daniels put on her headphones, listening to music as she moved the photos on her camera to the tablet, looking over anything she missed. The girl was so immersed in her music, that she didn't realize the specialist at her door.

Ward was surprised, to say the least. The kid looked far too young to see any kind of battle but handled injuries and missions like every agent. He thought that she possibly had some bad

experience as a child, but thought against it.  _ There aren't many people who are kind after a traumatic experience.  _

He saw a little pop up on her screen and watched as she tensed. Ward knew he could see what was there if he moved forward, but knew it would be an invasion of privacy. So instead he knocked on the door beside him, pretending he had just arrived. The music in her headphones instantly stopped and she looked up quickly, staring at him with wide eyes.

Seeing him, she sighs, putting down her tablet and taking off her headphones before looking up at her S.O..

"Agent May wants to talk to you. Coulson and I are going to the 3 suspects. We'll be back in a couple of hours." Ward said, eying the girl closely.

Liz sighs, tossing her tablet next to her on the bed and nodding to her S.O.. She moved past Ward and walked downstairs, when the specialist called her.

"Yes?" She asks, looking back at Ward.

"Your wrist. Uh, how is it?" He asked. Liz stared at him before smiling slightly.

"I'm fine, Ward. I've had my fair share of falls and injuries." The girl said before walking away. The specialist narrowed his eyes as the girl disappeared from sight.  _ But not many forget they've been shot. _

°•°

While Ward and Coulson went to catch a cowboy-- lucky them--Liz was being lectured by not only May, but Simmons also.

"You have to make sure you're not straining your wrist even more while training. They could end up breaking!" The scientist exclaimed.

"You sound like Derek." She muttered, but Simmons heard it.

"Who?" Simmons asked curiously. The young teen mentally cursed herself for letting the name slip.

"Uh, he was a foster dad," Lizzie said, biting her lip, looking down at her lap. 

"Was? Is this---" Simmons was cut off when May appeared, interrupting the scientist.

"Coulson called in. They're bringing gold. He wants you and Fitz to analyze it." She said before walking away.

"Oh, alright." Simmons muttered to herself and she finished wrapping the girl's wrist.

Daniels excused herself so Simmons and Fitz could prepare. She left quickly, only to bump into May.

"Sorry May." The girl said quickly.

"Stay on task. You could be going in the field again sooner than you think." May stated, before walking back to the cockpit.

The girl nodded absentmindedly and hugged herself, walking to her bunk, letting out a shaky breath.  _ You can't let past events cloud our missions. What if Mike was on the verge of exploding and he didn't get shot with the night night gun? Then we would've had to expose ourselves and taken Mike to an isolated place. _ Liz scolds herself as she opens the door to her bunk.

She plopped down on her bed, burying her face in the pillow. If her suspicions were confirmed on who either had the Doctor or where that element came from, she would have to use that invitation to get in.

_ Dammit _ .

°•°

Liz stayed in her bunk, watching a random YouTube video on her tablet. Ward and Coulson still weren't back, but there wasn't anything to worry about. They knew how to do their job, even if it was more than they can handle.

Realizing that she missed about half of the video, she sighed and paused it. She stared up at the ceiling, thinking about past events and missions.  _ I REALLY hope it's not who I think it. But I know he makes too much noise when he wants to feel smart. _ The young girl groaned and put a pillow on her face. She almost blew her entire cover in the last 2 missions, and already had talked with Fury about it.

**_Flashback_ **

_ "We need to talk." _

_ "And who is going to talk, Agent Daniels or someone else?" Fury questions, not turning around as he walks past her. The girl followed the Director, silent for a moment. _

_ "You know who." Her eyes were brighter when Fury turned. _

_ "Coulson knows. At least what he saw. He'll eventually ask questions with all these close calls." She said, looking at her boss. They both knew Coulson was a good man, but he wasn't ready for that kind of secret. Not yet. _

_ "Then make sure he doesn't ask questions." Fury simply states, before walking away. _

_ The girl frowns and rolls her eyes as they darken back to their dark color. Fixing her glasses, she quickly walked back to the plane before anyone could notice she was missing. _

**_Flashback_ **

Ever since New York and what she discovered, Fury had to keep a close eye on the girl. It frustrated her, knowing that her friend knew what was happening but didn't do anything most of the time. To let her figure it out on her own.

A knock interrupted her thoughts. Moving the pillow out of her face, she turned as her door opened, revealing the young hacker that entered everyone's lives.

"Ward and Coulson are back and they figured out who took the Doc," Skye said, glancing at the girl's wrapped wrist.

"I'm guessing Coulson is calling us in for briefing?" Liz asked, sitting up slowly while moving the pillow to her lap.

"Yea. In 20 minutes. Coulson said that he was going to run something down before gathering the others for briefing." The hacker confirmed. 

Skye felt a bit uncomfortable around Liz. Maybe it was because she was younger than her, or forced in this situation by past events. She was curious about the girl, like she had more to her story than she let on. The hacker may not be as observant in certain situations like Ward or May, but she knew when someone hid more than what they told.

"Alright then." Liz sighs, cutting Skye's train of thought. The younger girl stood up from her bed, grabbing her glasses from the window and the camera next to it before standing in front of Skye.

"We should go early, that way Ward doesn't yell at either of us." Liz smiled brightly at Skye, causing the hacker to smile and laugh in return.

The hacker moves out of the way as Liz walks past her. Skye saw how her body became tense, a sort of dread radiating from her as they walked together.

°•°

Ian smiled and looked at the familiar face in front of him. "Welcome to Malta, Frank."

"You know it's one thing to steal my ideas, but stealing me?"

"First of all I never stole your ideas. We've always agreed information should be free." Ian countered.

"It's amazing how much money you made off  **free** information."

"Secondly, think of this as a rescue mission, Frank. In fact, in a moment, I think you'll be thanking me." Quinn stated, silencing Dr. Hall.

"My staff intercepted a communication about the movement of a certain asset, and when I deduced that asset was you, I couldn't pass up on the opportunity." He continued, shrugging slightly.

"It's a little out of my comfort zone, sure." Quinn said as he stood up, Dr. Hall following him.

"Malta. You're not stupid. S.H.I.E.L.D. can't come after you here." Hall stated, glancing at Ian, who took out a bottle and began to pour it onto two glass cups.

"Not just S.H.I.E.L.D.. I am now a naturalized citizen of this fair country. Stunning beaches, beautiful tax laws, and a deep-seated hatred of outside forces telling them what to do." Ian declared happily.

"Sounds like your dating profile," Hall commented, causing Ian to laugh.

They continued talking, Ian explaining how he got the place. He handed the drink to Hall and they continued talking, until Ian brought up the main topic for the visit.

"You found it?" 

°•°

Since no one was in the common room yet, Liz sat on one of the chairs and waited with Skye. She rested her head back on the chair, staring out the window in silence. Fitzsimmons were downstairs, talking about the element that was inside the sphere. Gravitonium they called it.  _ The element had another name once upon a time, _ the girl thought as she frowned.

_ It's no coincidence now. But why invite me? I haven't been on the job for months. _ Another part of her already knew that question. Even after  _ his _ death, she still did the reports and interviews, up until two weeks ago.

Daniels glanced over at Skye, seeing her immersed on her computer with headphones in, typing away at a rapid pace.  _ "The girl's a threat." _

"What kind of growing subconscious bullshit is that?" The girl blurted out, thankfully not alerting Skye. She knew she had some sort of subconscious literally growing, but to actually  _ hear _ it is a whole different story.

Hearing footsteps, Liz turned around and saw May walking towards the holo table. "Any particular reason why you're talking to yourself?"

"I think I have a subconscious that is actually starting to talk back." 

May rolled her eyes, the corner of her like twitched upward slightly, before it disappeared. Leaving Skye alone, Liz went over to where May was, watching her silently prepare the briefing. Silence echoed around the two people.

"So where are Ward and Coulson? Usually, it's one of them being here first." Liz asked, glancing at the woman next to her.

"Ward is checking inventory. Coulson is in his office, possibly talking with director Fury." May simply said, not looking up from the tablet in her hand.

"Ian Quinn is the guy who took the doctor, right?" Liz suddenly became nervous. She didn't want to see that man. But if that's how it was, then so be it. Missions had to be accomplished, no matter how personal.

"They confirmed it. Now we find a way to save him." May heard the nervousness in the girl's voice, but decided not to say anything. Getting too attached was something she can't do. May heard footsteps, but didn't bother to look up. "Where's Coulson?" Ward's voice rang. May answered him, but the girl didn't pay attention. She stared in the direction of the older agent's office, frowning a little.  _ Maybe I should talk to Coulson.  _

With the thought in mind, she excused herself and made her way to Coulson's office, missing Ward's worried look towards her.

°•°

"Yes, I finally found it. And now," Ian laughed as he took a sip from his drink, "we get to play with it."

"Do you remember in all our talks on orchard street the part where it's very, very dangerous?" Dr. Hall stated as he stared at the young man.

"Everything powerful is dangerous." What Ian said was true, Dr. Hall had to agree on that.

"But I'm not gonna convince you with more talk-- talk of 50% shares, talk of noble prizes. No, not you." Ian continued.

"You will just have to see it." He pressed a few buttons on the screen before him and the wall in front had revealed a window of a room. In that room, a giant version of the sphere the team encountered stood tall. Dr. Hall slowly walked forward, not believing what was happening.

"I built a full-sized generator, but I need you to tell me how to control the gravity fields. You can complete your life's work." Ian pressured. He could practically see the older man's brain running, thinking of what decision to make.

"I plan to do this with or without you, but I know you. I know you'd want it done right." He continued, smirking slightly.

"Now's the moment when you thank me."

°•°

"The man's a prisoner, and it's up to us to get him out," Coulson said as the entire team gathered in the room.

Skye stood off to a corner next to Liz, who seemed upset for some reason.

"Or a man inside." Ward countered, grabbing the attention of both young girls in the corner. Liz quickly took out her phone and looked for something while Skye listened closely, absentmindedly typing something on her phone.

"If we had a monkey, we could get in." Fitz thought, not realizing--or caring--how ridiculous that idea was.

"Ugh, Fitz!" Simmons groans out, only to be cut off by the man again.

"If we had a monkey, he could slip through the sensors and disable the fence's power source with his adorable little hands." Barely understanding how that would work Skye spoke up.

"I could go in." She suggested calmly, only to be ignored. Stopping what she was doing, Daniels looked at her.  _ So could I.  _

_ "You're joking, right?" _

"We both could," Lizzie told Skye softly, ignoring her subconscious Skye looked down at her, a small smile on her face. At least she knew someone would have her back. They nodded at each other and knew what they had to do.

"Hall doesn't have a few weeks." Coulson interrupted Ward and he walked around.

"And to estate, any agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. caught on Maltese soil can be shot to death with bullets-- legally." Simmons added, earning a nod from Fitz.

Skye and Liz glanced at each other, nodding. "Not Me, I could go in. Well, we both could." She gestured to the teen next to her, who crossed her arms.

"Skye, this is serious," Ward stated, looking at the rookies.

"Wait," Coulson said, glancing at the others before walking to Skye and Liz. "What are you saying?"

"Well I'm not an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.--"

"And I technically don't have a consultant file that exists within S.H.I.E.L.D.." Lizzie added quickly.

"Right. So we can go in without breaking all these stupid rules." Skye continued while looking down at her phone, only to be cut off by Simmons.

"International laws."

"This isn't something the Rising Tide can hack, Skye." Ward stated. 

Lizzie had found what she was looking for and replied back, rolling her eyes in the process when Fitz mentioned the monkey again.

"You said you could go in with a man inside." Skye looked up from her phone, staring at everyone.

"And you both want to be that man?" May's tone sounded harsh, but Liz knew better. She stared at her former trainer in the eyes and nodded.

Skye was hesitant, but didn't give up. "Fitzsimmons love the guy and he needs help." She stated before looking back down at her phone. "They could be torturing him or worse, making him do strength training."

The young girl rolled her eyes as she tried to hide the smile forming on her face.

"You don't have the background, or clearance, or experience with any of this. And you're still a kid." He said, saying the last part to the teen.

_ Honestly _ . The girl only sighed, giving the hacker the go-ahead to show her plan first.

"I know," Skye said, amusement in her voice. She held up her phone, her eyes were bright with determination. "But I've got an invitation. Well, technically it's an e-vite."

Everyone stared at her before looking at Liz, who was trying not to smile. "I have an undercover photography job and received an email this morning with my invitation to do an interview with Quinn himself." She states proudly, showing her phone to Coulson.

°•°

"I understand your concern, but we don't have a lot of options," Coulson said, as he searched through a bunch of suits.

"Hey, I'm impressed. Skye just wrangled an invitation on her phone. Using insider background channel voodoo in minutes. And Daniels having that job for who knows how long." Ward said, before pausing. He didn't like calling the teen by how she preferred, which annoyed her sometimes.

"But sending Skye in with no training, and Daniels with her injuries-- especially since we don't know what level of training she's even had-- you're taking a huge risk. I know director Fury felt he owed you after you sacrificed yourself."

"And my card collection," Coulson muttered.

"He gave you some autonomy. But Skye and Daniels on a covert op?"

"Are you worried about their safety or their loyalty?"

"Both."  _ Shocker _ , Coulson thought.

"The Rising Tide is the reason Skye got an invite. Who knows how many protocols she violated. And Daniels had that invitation already and didn't tell us."

"Well that's Skye's and Liz's job-- ignore protocol, find connections and back doors that nobody else can see or even think about." Coulson's before pausing, staring at the specialist in front of him.

"Something else is bothering you." He said and Ward paced a little before turning back to Coulson. "They're holding back, sir. Skye says she wants to be an agent, but she won't commit. And while Daniels sometimes listens, she still ignores her injuries. They don't listen, make jokes."

"Were you hard on them?" The superior agent interrupted.

"Sure. I tried playing nice, too. I need a new strategy."

"Try no strategy," Coulson said, walking towards the specialist.

"Stop thinking like an operative, start thinking like a person. Maybe they will let that person help them."

"Help them what?"

"Help them think like an operative." With that, Coulson walked away.

°•°

While Ward was training Skye how to at least take a gun away quickly, Liz was getting a lecture by her former trainer in the pit.

"What the hell are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that the chief journalist is a bit of an ass and Skye needs help."

"You are not supposed to be out in the field with threats like Quinn and Reyes still out there, especially those who know you were helping  _ others _ ." May said sternly.

"Look, I understand you're worried about my emotions and what could cause the mission to go south. Especially since I found out that it was Quinn who killed Derek." Liz paused, closing her eyes briefly.

"May, I can do this. We can do this. Scarlet, as Reyes called her, helps me. And besides, being with Skye helps ease this mission a little."

May sighed, knowing that even without her condition, the girl would always find a way. Sometimes without even trying to.

"What does  _ she _ say about this?"

_ "That you're an idiot." _

" _ She _ thinks I'm an idiot." The teen rolled eyes. The corner of May's mouth twitched up, before sighing once more and nodding.

"I'll be fine. I promise." The young girl said, before walking out of the cockpit.

°•°

"Skye and Daniels will walk in the front door. The only external access point to Quinn's underground facility is from a beach cove. A two-man extraction team could slip in there, but it's not easy. Fitzsimmons." Coulson said, nodding to the young scientists.

"The perimeter is surrounded by a 20-foot high neodymium laser grid. Touch it and you're toast." Fitz said as he quickly went back to Simmons' side.

"Dead toast," Coulson added.

May had her arms crossed and briefly shifted warily at the information. "The only way to disable the grid is to crack the system and trigger a reboot. This would give the team three seconds to cross. Of course, Quinn is too smart to allow any wireless access on his property."

"That's where we come in," Liz spoke up as she checked her camera.

"Yes, working compact-- holds up under x-ray," Simmons stated while Fitz took out the device.

Fitzsimmons continued talking with Skye about how the device works and Ward said something that made Skye falter slightly, but nods nonetheless. 

_ Let's get this show on the road.  _

°•°

**Location: Republic of Malta**

Skye and Liz exited the taxi, both of them looking around before walking towards the really nice looking building. The young hacker smiled nervously while Daniels adjusted her glasses, spotting any and every camera and security guard at the entrance alone.

The hacker wore a hot pink dress that reached just below her knees, her hair was curled and loose, a pair of high heels, and a gold bracelet. The hacker also carried a small purse, holding the things she needed for the mission. She nervously looked around as she walked in, trying to spot Quinn. Liz trailed behind her, her young appearance grabbing the attention of all the rich and powerful people.

She wore a black open blazer, the folded sleeves reaching down just above her elbow. Her wrist was still wrapped in bandages, but the color was changed to black, so that it was easier to match with the outfit. Paired with a simple white sleeveless blouse, dark gray dress pants, and low heeled boots. Her brown hair was divided into two pigtail braids as the camera hung around her neck, a small purse hanging on her elbow. Simmons and Skye both insisted on the purse, it being more fashionable than her regular bag.

"Someone invited a kid to this?"

"Oh my god, it's her! The famous young photographer!"

Lizzie heard the whispers of the people around them and tensed.  _ Maybe coming here was a bad idea _ . Skye glanced quickly at the girl before accepting a drink from a waiter that had walked up to her. Another waiter came up and offered her a snack.

She gratefully accepted it and continued walking. The young teen nervously fumbled with her camera as she looked around. She hasn't been on this job with a lot of people in a long time.  _ Ok, calm down. We have to continue this. For both the mission and the interview. _

_ "You hate interviewing people." _

Liz jumped a little at the voice in her head. At the rate this was going, she would have a whole personality literally speaking to her.  _ I don't like interviewing rich people. They always have to gloat about something. I still remember that first Stark interview. _

The girl shuddered.  _ I needed Pepper to free me. That interview was just terrible. _ Daniels was so into her own thoughts, she didn't realize she walked into someone. She stumbled back, her glasses falling off in the process. Skye wanted to run over to her but was blocked by an old man asking who she was.

"You built half Dubai, including the Arabian blade. I love that building, it's super sci-fi." Skye said, quickly glancing at Liz, who was looking for her glasses.

**"Wife's name is Nadrah."** May's voice said over the comms. The girl jumps slightly, forgetting she had the comms on.

_ "By the man with the gray pants." _

Daniels nods to herself and slowly makes her way over, not realizing Skye was headed in the same direction.

"Ian Quinn. I'm your last-minute party crasher." The hacker said. Liz froze dead on her tracks, feeling several emotions inside of her.

_ "You have to calm down. Pick up your glasses and get it together." _ Her subconscious-- when it actually feels like a  _ real _ person is in her head, she'll call it a name-- practically scolded her, a headache already forming. Slowly, she picked up her glasses, a tight smile forming on her face. "Ian Quinn."

Quinn turned his attention to the familiar voice, his eyes widening in shock. The young girl noticed how the familiar eyes looked at her with such intensity it almost made her want to snap. Almost.

"Little Liz. It's been a long time." Ian said, a smile forming on his face. Skye looked between them, her mouth opening a little at the information.

"Long time it has been, Quinn." Daniels said with a nod, trying not to flinch at the nickname.

"I see you accepted the invitation. Give your boss my thanks." Ian smiled wider and turned his attention back to Skye.

"And it's great to meet you, Skye," Ian stated before turning to the group in front of him. "She's a member of the Rising Tide. They're a group of hackers. Gotten some pretty big secrets out to the public. I'm actually surprised you both arrived at the same time."

The teen noticed everyone whispering, their excitement showing easily. "We became acquainted a few weeks ago and met up when we heard about this. It was only a matter of time before my boss gave me an assignment."

"And I prefer 'hacktivist'. Glad you've heard of our site." Skye smiled, shooting a glance at Daniels. She managed to come up with a story in less than 3 seconds.

"I read it. We think very much alike-- more freedom of information, less government infringing on everyone's rights-- I'm a fan." Ian states to the young hacker.

"That explains the invite. This is a tough party to get into." Skye looked around, pretending to be impressed.

"You've got to show me how you did that-- I mean, if you sign on." This caused Skye and Liz to look at Ian, raising an eyebrow. 

_ Did he just offer Skye a job? _

"I've been known to turn a few black hats into white hats, not just for vulnerability analysis, but for very creative thinking." He said, leaving the hacker speechless.

"A-are you offering me a job?" The hacker managed to say.

"Well, I didn't invite you here for your pretty face. I didn't know you had a pretty face. Yes, I want to hire you before someone else snatches you up." He said quickly before turning to Daniels and motioning her to follow.

**"That seemed to go well."** May's voice spoke over the earpiece.

"Yeah, it did," Skye said, taking a sip of her drink.

°•°

_ I swear I want to murder him. _ Liz glared at Quinn as he gave his speech, not caring about how his words were convincing people. He always went after the most vulnerable, trying to make them see his point of the world. Use people with money for his own exploits. 

"We dare defy them with a new idea, they steal in and sweep it out from under us. But not today," Ian smiles determinedly.

"You're all aware of what Quinn worldwide has been able to do with basic minerals, let alone uranium and plutonium, despite these unjust restrictions that weigh the scales in the guy's favor."

_ I don't like where this is going _ . Liz grew worried and looked around, watching how everyone was invested in what he was saying. Her eyes landed at Skye's and they nodded to each other.

She watched as Skye slowly moved, heading inside the building as Quinn continued his speech. Liz turned off her comms, pretending she was fixing her hair and paid more attention to the man speaking.

"An element that could balance those scales, and I mean that quite literally." Ian continued speaking, as the screen next to him showed Gravitonium. The dread she was feeling intensified, she could almost feel her subconscious.

_ "I'm not liking where this is going." _

"Not as hard to get into as the encrypted backchannel you contacted us through to request the invite." The millionaire stated, watching the young hacker's smile fall. 

_Skye obviously has some impressive skills. Enough to convince the guy_.

_ Glad I'm not the only one. _

°•°

"Wait, why did Liz turn off her comms?" Simmons spoke, looking at the screen worriedly.

"Simmons relax. I'm sure she knows what she's doing." Fitz reassured his best friend, before they both turned their heads to May.

"She knows what she's doing. Have faith." The cavalry stated confidently, seeing the young scientists relax slightly. 

_ Don't do anything stupid _ .

°•°

"This could have been a traumatic experience for Dr. Hall. He may not be the same when we find him, Ward. I'll talk him down. We don't want your personality to see him on edge." Coulson said as both he and the specialist walked on the beach, looking around for any activity.

"Great time for humor, sir." Ward said sarcastically. "My people skills are the least of our problems if Skye and Daniels can't get us in."

°•°

"It's locked, but there's no lock," Skye said, backing away from the black door. She worried for Liz, having noticed her tension around Quinn, and kinda wishing she wasn't alone looking ominous in a hallway.

**"Eh, check for a keypad."** Fitz's voice spoke, cutting the hacker from her thoughts. Skye looked around the door, seeing if there was a secret switch to open the damned door.

"Nothing. Wait, you can hack a keypad?"

**"No, not over the phone."** Fitz backed up from the holo table, frowning slightly as he ate his popcorn.

**"Is there a reception desk?"** May asked.

Skye looked around before noticing the desk. She walked over to it and saw nothing electronic worth hacking. "Now what do I do?"

"Depends on what you're trying to do." Said a voice behind her. Skye quickly turned around and paled slightly.

Ian walked towards her, his hands in his pockets as he stared at her.

"Just uh, looking for a pen." The hacker stated, chuckling nervously as she grabbed a pen from the desk.

"Got to write down all those good ideas, you know what I mean? Of course, you know what I mean. Probably have like 10 pens for all your ideas." Her rambling trailed off as she stared at his serious face.

"What are you  _ really _ doing?"

Skye opened her mouth, but thought of nothing. Then she remembered something Liz said earlier. One that can benefit them both and get Quinn to trust Skye. "All right. I'm busted. I was trying to get a glimpse behind your office doors, see how things really operate." She said, looking down.

"I invite you here as a guest, you treat me like another corrupt institution, looking for trade secrets to leak online." Ian stated, walking closer to Skye's personal space.

_ This seems to go well so far. I kinda see why Liz doesn't like him.  _ Skye thought to herself quickly as she saw Quinn begin to for security.

"No no no, wait!" She said quickly, grabbing his arm. "It's just, with all these la-di-da people, you have to be so guarded, so careful-- what you say, what secrets you reveal." Skye grabbed a piece of paper and began writing.

"And... I was hoping that you and I could be honest with one another. If you know what I mean." She finished, holding up the piece of paper towards him.

**S.H.I.E.L.D.**

**IS**

**LISTENING**

Ian's eyes widen in shock slightly before staring back up at Skye.

°•°

**_"My office had less space, more wheels. Wow, a view of the ocean and the pool."_ **

**_"Not a bad place to do business."_ **

Fitzsimmons and May were hearing the conversation between Ian and Skye while the specialist worked on the laptop. "Got the dispatch leaking Hall's location. User's an alias." ****

"Oh, can you trace the DHCP server--" Fitz pointed out but was cut off by the superior agent. ****

"Trace is running, but it'll take time. Our girls?"

"Daniels is still radio silent. But Skye, I thought she was done for, but she's just sweet-talked her way into Quinn's office." Simmons stated, worry and shock on her voice. ****

"How'd she manage that?" May asked, slightly impressed with the young hacker. ****

Before Fitz could comment on something, the sound of Liz's comms turned back on. **"Sorry about that, needed to** **maintain my cover."**

It wasn't a total lie. Liz was maintaining her cover at being a photographer, but she was using her phone to hack into Quinn's files. "How's Skye?" She asked, even though she knew how the hacker was doing, since she gave her another earpiece before they separated. ****

"She's talking with Quinn, letting him babble---" Simmons stopped talking when the signal to Skye's comms went dead. ****

"Oh my gosh, the signal's dead. Fitz!" ****

The engineer stuttered slightly. "Wha-- I didn't-- she must've-- oh lord." ****

°•° ****

"S.H.I.E.L.D. got to you?" Ian questioned, picking the champagne glass with the earpiece floating inside. ****

"They picked me up in L.A., I helped them in a crisis, and now they wanna recruit me." ****

**_"Good job Skye, keep him distracted a little more. Don't forget about the pact."_ ** __ ****

"Of course they did." Ian stated, setting down the glass. ****

"So I played along, talked about inside info-- I have a bunk on their plane." Skye continued, walking around the couch while smirking. ****

"I've been gathering intel, biding my time until I could become useful. I thought this qualified."

"This is going to make a great interview for Liz." The man muttered before looking up at Skye. "But why would they trust you with a covert operation like this?"

Skye shrugged and smirked. "Something about S.H.I.E.L.D. not breaking international laws. They had no other options, whereas I like to keep mine open."

°•°

"You Elizabeth Daniels?" One of Ian's men appeared behind the girl. Liz tensed but quickly forced herself to relax, before turning around, looking up at the tall man.

"Yes. How can I help you?"

"Ian Quinn has asked me to escort you to where he is. There's a story he wants you to hear."

"I'm all for it." Liz forced a smile and followed the man.

**_"Skye, I'm coming to you."_ ** The girl said quietly.

°•°

**_"Skye's offline. Repeat, we've lost audio and vitals."_ ** May notified Coulson and Ward.

Ward panicked slightly but manages to keep his face calm. "Abort is not an option, but if she's compromising and Daniels gets caught--"

"They're still our only way in to get to Dr. Hall."

"And we're their only way out." The specialist sighed.

They heard voices and realized the patrol was on their way. Quickly before being seen, the two agents hid behind the bushes.

This was probably not gonna end well. 

°•°

"You're saying they wanted to rope me in because I pose a genuine threat," Skye stated, looking up at Ian from the couch.

"Yes, and fit their profile."

"Profile."

"Sure. You're a criminal. You have a warrant somewhere." Ian looked at Skye, calmly waiting for Lizzie to enter the room.

The hacker chuckled and looked away. "Probably."

"Specialize skill set."

"I try to stay humble but fail." She remarked cheekily.

"No family."

Skye froze as her smile dropped slowly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit a nerve, but that is what these people do." Ian said, walking over to the hacker.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.-- they prey on fear, and loneliness and desperation, and then they offer a home. To those who have no one else to turn to." He paused, staring right into her eyes. "I can offer you something better."

Skye looked at him briefly, before averting her eyes, thinking.

**_"Skye. You can't let him bait you. He does this to everyone."_ **

Liz silently prayed that Skye wouldn't get sucked into his offer. She learned that the hard way a long time ago.

°•°

"Damn, little rusty I guess," Coulson said, trying to figure out after taking out the patrol. Ward grabbed the gun from his hands and looked at it, before tossing towards the fence, causing the weapon to incinerate.

"Guys, clock's ticking. Where are they?"

°•°

"You stay with us, there's no secrets, no lies, and no agenda. You're free, to do what you do without big brother watching over you." Ian taunted, standing up straight.

Skye looked down, though she knew Ian was baiting her, it didn't seem all bad.

"But first, you have to tell me exactly what agenda SHIELD sent you in here with." He said, now sitting next to Skye.

The door opened silently and Liz stepped in, eying the people in front of her. Ian looked at the girl and smiled brightly. "Perfect timing, Liz. I have a story for you. Now Skye, tell me."

"Well, they wanted me to do whatever it takes to get in here," Skye said, slowly reaching for her purse. Daniels had the mic on her phone on, knowing it'd be suspicious if she wasn't recorded for the story she wanted.

Skye opened the compact and looked at the mirror, watching as the red light flickered to life before turning green.

"Get in here and...?"

When the light finally went green, Skye pretends to fix her makeup. "Bat my eyes. Get you talking." She said, closing the compact slowly and placing it on the table.

Liz silently thanked the gods as her phone buzzed with a notification.  _ They should be receiving it now.  _

°•°

The beeping alerted the agents on the bus. Simmons jumped up after waiting patiently. "We're in."

"She's done it!"

"Fitz, you're up," May ordered, causing the Scottish engineer to spring to action. 

"Oh, mother of all things. Move, move, move!" He exclaimed, barely dodging a collision with the specialist as he began typing away.

While typing, Coulson, and Ward were being shot at. The older agent began yelling Fitz's name as the hostiles drew near them.

"Saying his name repeatedly does not increase productivity!" The brit stated behind her friend.

"Ok go!"

"Oh, maybe it does."

The dangerous fence finally became offline and Coulson went through first.

"System rebooting in two, one, now!" Fitz exclaimed, just as Ward jumped through before the fence went back online. They walked towards the mansion, cautious around their surroundings.

"I'll look for Dr. Hall in the lab."

"I'll get Skye and Daniels."

°•°

"You can't be the only angle. S.H.I.E.L.D's thorough enough to know about me and my exploits. It takes more than a pretty face to disarm me."

Before Skye-- or the teen for that matter-- commented anything, A few of Quinn's men busted into the room.

"Sir, we have a security breach."

"Oh, the timing on that was perfect." Skye sighed as she began to smirk.

"Well, I was waiting for this like 2 minutes ago." Liz shrugged while putting away her phone.

Realization dawned on Ian's face as he grabbed the compact from the table. He opened it and saw the green light. Out of frustration, he broke the device and patted his guard's shoulder, before taking his gun and aiming it at Skye while the others aimed at Liz.

Skye sat up straight and stared intensely at the gun, while Daniels slowly turned and glared at the men. "I don't think you want to do that fellas."

"Little Liz. After everything I've done for you in the past, you end up work--"

_ "After what." _ The girl's voice dripped with venom. It caught everyone in the room off guard. 

The girl looked down, closing her eyes as a dark laugh escaped from her lips. "Yes. Let's recall what you've done for me in the past. Like the fact that you had Derek  _ murdered _ and thought that the interview wouldn't happen. But you didn't know he had a partner, so when you saw me, you played along. Do you have any idea how much Derek meant to me? All because you didn't want your little  _ secrets _ spilled." As Liz spoke, she had slowly stood up and walked towards him, but his guards moved in front.

In a swift movement, she knocked them out, never once looking up. "Hey, Ian, did you know Derek personally? Made any threats to him?" Skye had backed up, scared of both Liz-- more worried for her-- and Ian, since he still had a gun aimed at her.

°•°

"Oh my." Simmons looked like she was going to cry. Her, Fitz, and the others all heard the conversation. 

"She mentioned that name before. When I treated her." Simmons spoke, looking at the screen. They saw Elizabeth's heart rate spike higher than Skye's at a steady pace.

°•°

Liz took off her glasses as small strands of her hair turned brighter. "Skye, jump out there and meet up with Ward." The girl didn't look at the hacker, her eyes still cast to the floor.

The guard slowly woke up as they saw Skye run and jumped out the balcony and into the pool. "After her!" Ian yelled, now aiming his gun at the young girl. Some of the guards left to catch Skye while others stayed to assist Quinn.

Finally, Liz lifted her head, and the look on her face made the gun in his hands shake. "Tell me, Quinn, what's it like, stealing people's ideas and names?" Her green eyes glowed with anger and her lips formed a devious smile.

She took another step forward and a shot fired.

°•°

"Liz's heart rate just spiked exponentially!" Simmons practically yelled.

Fitz and May stood there as the monitor beeped loudly and fast. There was nothing any of them could do now. It was up to Coulson and Ward.

°•°

Liz stood there, hissing in pain but not down on the floor. She was shot in the shoulder, the bullet still stuck inside her. One of Ian's men had fire out of fear.

"You little piece of--"

The young teen was cut off when the ground shook slightly, causing everyone to go off balance. Ian regains his balance and stalks towards her, his face red with anger.

"What are they doing?!"

The place shook once more, stronger than the first. Everyone falls down, Liz falling onto her bad shoulder. She screamed loudly and clutched onto her injured shoulder. Pushing the pain aside, she stood up. Putting her camera in her bag, she secured it before pressing a button on the handle and tossing it out the window, hearing the quiet sound of the small propellers. With the others still down, it gave Liz enough time to jump out of the balcony.

Instead of falling into the water as Skye did, Lizzie jumped far enough to send her rolling off the side.

Quinn didn't even bother to send men after her, seeing as they were having trouble themselves. He saw a few of the pens that were on the floor, slowly float down. "Hall. We have to evacuate. Get the chopper. Now!" He yelled at his men.

S.H.I.E.L.D. would regret this. Especially that girl who almost ruined his life three years back. Quinn would make sure of it.

°•°

"All I had to do to get access to Quinn's lab was drop little clues, create a puzzle for him to solve. Quinn likes to  _ feel _ smart." Dr. Hall stated, aiming the gun at Coulson.

During Daniels' little confrontation, Coulson and May had figured out that the leak came from Dr. Hall himself. He had activated the Gravitonium, causing huge shifts in gravity. Especially inside the lab.

"So you leaked your location. Why not try reasoning with him?"

"You can't reason with an addict, and he's addicted to exploiting opportunities. He never gives a thought to the friends, ecosystems, future generations left ruined in his wake." Hall sneered.

"Like agents Fitz and Simmons, your former students? I've got them in my ear right now, telling me you're not a bad guy. We could've worked with you on this." Coulson glared at the man in front of him, seeing what he would do.

The gravity shifts once more and Coulson falls hard on his side, as Dr. Hall only loses his balance slightly.

"S.H.I.E.L.D.? S.H.I.E.L.D. is just as guilty of the same thing-- experimentation without thought of consequence! Your search for an unlimited power source brought an alien invasion."

Coulson shrugged slightly. "Fair point."

"T-this element is far too powerful for you, for him, for anyone! I don't have to tell you that." Hall said, just as the ground shook again. "You're feeling it now."

°•°

"No no no! Please!" Skye pleaded as guards caught up to her and grabbed her arm and a third approached her. 

Before the guard could do anything, Ward appeared from behind and kicked the guy's legs, causing him to bend over. Not letting him recover, Ward quickly went around and punched the guy hard in the face and kicked his gut, pushing him onto the water. 

The other two holding Skye pushed her back and attacked Ward. He fended them off while Skye stood away, shaking in fear and cold. 

Once Ward manages to take down the men, Skye runs over to him, shaking while holding his shirt tightly. "It's okay. Just follow my orders and I'll get us out of here."

The hacker just nodded and followed the specialist.

°•°

_ Stupid stupid stupid, you could've exposed us to the team. How the hell would you be able to explain that to Fury? _

_ "Shut the hell up and find Ward and Skye." _ Liz narrowed her eyes and walked over to where her bag was, hissing as she took off her blazer, ripping a long enough cloth to wrap the wound. Her hair returned to its dark color as she picked up her bag.

Just as she was about to spot her teammates, there was an unmistakable shift in the air. Her bones felt like they were shaking painfully, as if Thor repeatedly hit her with the hammer. The girl's brain was practically pulsed against her skull. Like a never-ending ring. The last time she experienced something like  _ that _ was when someone had used the full power of the gravitonium. 

The young girl let out an inhumane scream, her knees buckling under her. 

Not far from where Liz was, Ward and Skye spotted the girl on the ground covering her ears as she screamed. The pain was too much for the girl, she didn't notice Skye and Ward run over, spotting her ripped blazer and her bloody shoulder.

"Ward, she's bleeding."

The shift and pain all of a sudden stopped and Liz went limp and panted heavily, too tired to move anymore. This gave Ward a chance to properly wrap the injured shoulder. With help from Skye, they got Liz on Ward's back and went to go find Coulson.

°•°

When they found Coulson down at the lab, the gravity field in the area had fixed itself. Coulson frowned as he stared at the gravitonium. 

Ward felt Liz shift a little on his back and looked back slightly. "Did I miss the rest of the fun?"

The tension in the room quickly disappeared and Skye smiled while Ward rolled his eyes. Coulson had smiled as well but noticed how pale she was getting and frowned worriedly. "Are you okay?"

The girl shrugged tiredly, instantly regretting it as she remembered the injuries she sustained. "Nothing doctor Simmons can't handle."

°•

"Say it back to me."

**_"Deepest level of the Fridge. Unmarked vault, no access granted."_ **

"And no recorded entry. I don't want it listed. I don't want it flagged for the slingshot. Anyone finds out, you're responsible-- and suffering. Understood?"

**_"Yes sir."_ **

Coulson nodded. "That's what Hall would've wanted." The feed cut off and Coulson turned around and picked up the gun from his desk.

He sighed, feeling frustrated as he tried taking apart the gun. "Used to have this down. Should be just muscle memory."

"You're making a habit of it, sir," May remarked, leaning against the door.

"Trying. Guess I'm a little rusty." Coulson said as he continued with the gun, not looking up at the specialist.

"Of these close calls, I mean. I don't enjoy running back end." May said, still staring at Coulson as he looked up.

"You want off the plane? Go ahead."

May pushed herself forward and walked towards her old friend. "I want in. Reporting for combat, next time it's up."

"You committed to the cause or just watching my back?"

May smirked slightly as she stared at Coulson. "Same thing. And you are a little rusty." She said before turning around and leaving. 

°•°

"Not only have you managed to injure your healing wrist, but you got shot in the shoulder, have a fever, and say that you're fine?! You could've died!" Simmons practically yelled at Liz as she patched her up.

"Simmons, you may not know this but I've taken worse. Besides, nothing is worse than glass." She said softly, hoping that Simmons didn't hear. But of course, the scientist heard it.

She moved forward and lifted Liz's chin up gently. "You are the youngest one here Liz. Even if you say you've had some type of experience with hardships, you are still the youngest. No one wants you to get hurt."

Daniels smiled softly at the affection, though they both know that there would be more trouble again. "Also, everyone heard about Derek. I'm so sorry."

"It's ok. It was a long time ago." Just three years, but it already felt like another lifetime since his death.

Simmons finished patching up the girl and told her very strictly that she should rest to break the fever. Once Simmons was satisfied with an answer from the young girl, she let her free. Liz slowly walked out of the lab, only to spot Skye in front of her, changed into training gear while hitting the punching bag determinedly. 

Daniels heard heavy footsteps and glanced at the stairs, seeing Ward lean against the railing as he watched Skye.

"You and your brothers-- where'd you grow up?"

"Massachusetts, mostly."

"A house?" Skye asked, still punching.

"You didn't?"

The hacker stopped and looked at her S.O.. "One house. The Brody's." Skye paused and took a sip from her water bottle, not looking back at Ward.

"I was 9. Sent me back to st. Agnes after a month. Said I wasn't a good fit." Skye continued, looking down.

"Foster parents. Your first?"

"My third." She said, looking back at the specialist. "I had heard it before, but... This one was different."

"'Cause you wanted them to like you."

Skye looked between the floor and Ward's eyes, nodding slightly. "Bad."

"I called her 'mom' once... Tried it out. Guess it wasn't a good fit." She said quickly and returned to the punching bag. She resumed punching once more, not meeting his eyes. "Hoping for something and losing it, hurts more than never hoping for anything."

Ward slowly walked over and stood behind the punching bag, holding it steady. "We won't turn our backs."

"Doesn't matter. I made my choice. I want this. Bad." The hacker stated, briefly looking up at the specialist.

"And I know there's a truth serum." She continued.

"Whatever you say, rookie."

Watching the interaction quietly from the entrance of the lab, Daniels smiled at how they were getting along. Quietly taking out her phone, Liz snapped a photo of them, before going back to her bunk.

°•°

They closed the vault that kept the gravitonium, the agent from before watching as the giant metal door closed.

Once the door was closed, the agent walked up to the metal door, turning the wheels so that it stayed locked. He grabbed the sign from the door and put it in his jacket before walking away.

Inside, the gravitonium moved in its containment normally. That is, until a hand in metal stretched out before retreating back.

°•°

Lizzie woke with a start, panting as she looked around in her bunk. She has felt the shift in the Gravitonium like it was reaching out to something. 

Like it was  _ calling _ her.

A knock on her door startled her out of her thoughts. She turns her head just as it slides open, revealing Coulson. He looks worried and curious as if someone told him something they shouldn't. 

"Sir?"

"You have a moment to talk in my office?" Immediately, Liz was put on edge but nodded nonetheless. Grabbing a sweater from the corner of her bed, she carefully puts it on over her shirt and stands up slowly. She could tell he's worried about her health, most likely have heard from Simmons that she had a fever and a few injuries. They made their way to Coulson's office, her nerves eating away. 

Upon reaching his office, Liz closes the door behind her as she watches Coulson lean back on his desk, waiting

"What do you want to know?"


End file.
